Ties That Bind
by S-Michael
Summary: Kagura is revived in the modern era by a teenage sorcerer bent on revenge, and intent on using her to get it, but even in this strange future, a few demons abide, and remember her from days of old...
1. The Boy Who Summons Demons

Author's Notes:

(1) Technically speaking, since the anime ended before Kagura died (I don't read the manga), I don't have to label this AU.

(2) The first three chapters and the interlude are rated "T". In Chapter four, it becomes M because of a scene of torture. After that, I start dropping the f-bomb a bit, because, well, it's already rated M, so fuck it.

Ties That Bind

S-Michael

Chapter 1:

The Boy Who Summons Demons

"…arise, Kagura…arise, Kagura…" What? What was this? This voice? The last thing Kagura remembered, she was fighting InuYasha. The monk, he…did…something. She couldn't remember. What was this voice? Why was it telling her to arise? Was she asleep? Was it all a dream? There was a pulsing in her heart, that was somehow strange and familiar at the same time. _My heart…_ Then, Naraku was dead, did that mean? It wouldn't have been the first time he faked his own death. "I command you, Kagura, arise!" Who was this voice? Who was he to think that he could command her to do anything? This was not Naraku, after all. "…am the descendant of the great monk Miroku who slew you and bound you to this place. His blood flows in my veins, and with that blood I command you, rise from the dead!" What was this? Kagura wasn't dead…was she? She couldn't quite remember what it was that Miroku had done. She moaned, and the sound startled her. Something fleshy was pressed to her lips, and some warm, thick, coppery liquid was leaking into her mouth. She swallowed, and she recognized the taste of human blood. Recognized the psychic feel of magic thick within that blood. The fleshy thing pressed to her lips was a wrist. It was like the blood energized her. She opened her eyes and sat up. The wrist was removed. She found the owner of the wrist. Her first thought was _Kohaku?_ But no. This boy was a little older than he had been, his hair was cut shorter, and the clothing he wore was…odd. It somehow reminded Kagura of Kagome's outfit, even though it looked nothing like that. "Blood has passed between us and we are now bound. Blood binds us together; resurrection binds you to me; the magic of this place and the forces I called upon to free you from it also bind us together; we are thus thrice bound. You are tied to me and my will until the purpose for which I brought you from the grave is fulfilled." The power in the room flexed like a muscle, and then the boy bound his bleeding wrist.

"Where am I? Who are you? What is the meaning of this?" Kagura demanded.

"It worked?" The boy asked weakly. "I don't believe it."

"If you want to remain in the realm of the living past the next five seconds, you will explain yourself," said Kagura.

"My name is Kyo, I raised you from the dead, you…you've been dead. For something on the order of five hundred years."

Five hundred years? "You said I was bound to you. What does that mean?"

"I…I'm not entirely sure. I was sort of in a trance when I said it, or something like a trance, sort of possessed," Kyo said.

"Uh-uh. See ya, kid," Kagura turned to walk away.

"No! Stop!"

Kagura froze in place. She didn't want to, but her body wouldn't move. "What did you do to me!" she demanded.

"I told you to stop and you froze," Kyo said, awed. "You have to do what I tell you to, don't you?"

Kagura realized that this was true, and she panicked. This was worse than with Naraku. A single word from this boy's lips would spur her to action, whether she chose it or not. With Naraku, often the only choice was between obedience and death, but even that was more choice than she had now. "Why…why didn't you leave me dead?"

"I need you," he said softly. "I need you to do something, and I will free you when you succeed. I don't care what you do after that. Kill yourself, burn Tokyo to the ground, whatever, I don't care."

"Maybe I'll kill you to ensure my freedom," Kagura said.

Kyo shrugged. "Honestly, I haven't thought that far ahead. Hell, if they knew what I was out here doing, they'd up my meds!"

"Meds?" Kagura asked.

"I'll explain later. First, we need to get you some normal clothes, and sunglasses. Make you look human," Kyo said.

"Why on Earth would I want to look human?" Kagura demanded.

"Because people tend to stare when you don't," Kyo said.

"So?"

"So, I'd rather not draw attention to ourselves," Kyo said.

"I'll kill any human who'll dare stand up to me," Kagura said.

"Um, yeah, about that…not a good idea. If you go around killing people, they tend to make you pay for it. Also, I don't know what things were like back in your time, but nowadays if a creature like yourself were to make yourself known, they'd hunt you down and dissect you, just out of curiosity," Kyo said.

"Like I'm afraid of a bunch of humans!"

"You should be. Humans rule this world. There is no place you can run, no place you can hide. Humanity is everywhere. Our communication nets are faster and more complete than you can possibly imagine. You will be found, you will be caught, and you will be killed, possibly dissected. Don't be foolish, disguise yourself. That's an order," Kyo said.

"Whatever. Alright, why am I here, exactly?"

"I need you to kill some people."

"Why not kill them yourself?"

Kyo snorted. "Who's going to let a kid like me have a weapon?"

Kagura gestured to the dagger in his left hand.

"I mean, a _real_ weapon, not the _toys_ people fought with in your day," Kyo said contemptuously. "Honestly, though, I'm not even supposed to have this. If they knew I had it, they'd take it away from me. They're always worried that I might try to kill myself. Again."

"Who are these 'they' people?" Kagura asked.

Kyo didn't speak for a moment. "I don't want to talk about it. Let's just get you some clothes, okay? Wait here," he left the room.

Kagura realized that she struck a nerve. She was in a shrine of some sort. It looked positively ancient, she looked around, checking it out for the first time. Miroku's staff. Sango's giant boomerang. They were here, tarnished with age. There were clean spots, though, assumable where Kyo removed his ancestor's wards from the artifacts. It hit her then just how long she had been dead.

Kyo returned. "Here, change." Kagura meant to take the proffered clothing into another room or something, but of course, the magic made her take his words literally. "What are you doing?" he averted his eyes.

"You have to be more careful of what you say if the magic is going to take you this seriously," Kagura chided, still changing.

"I'll keep that in mind," Kyo murmured.

"Seriously, what am I dealing with? The people you want me to kill, I mean," Kagura asked.

"Just your basic Yakuza. If you're as powerful as the v…as I was told you are, and are careful about it, I doubt that you'll have a problem," Kyo said.

"So why not just deal with them yourself?" Kagura asked.

"What do you want me to do? Just walk in there weaponless and kill them?" Kyo asked.

"Don't give me the weakling routine. If you're a powerful enough sorcerer to resurrect a five hundred year dead demon and bind one as strong as me to your every word, you are definitely powerful enough to take a more direct rout," Kagura said.

Kyo looked up, remembered himself, and looked down. "You decent yet?"

"Yeah," Kagura said.

He looked up at her again, looking perplexed. "What do you mean, a more direct rout?"

"Well, for the same amount of energy you must have expended hear, you could have summoned a whole army of demons to you from out of the wilderness to do your bidding, for example." Honestly, who was this kid?

"There aren't any," Kyo said.

"What do you mean, there aren't any?" Kagura asked.

"There aren't any. There are no demons in this world in this age and there hasn't been for some time. Most people don't even believe that demons even exist," Kyo said.

"Impossible!"

"You'll see," Kyo said. He looked her up and down. "You almost pass for human, albeit one without any fashion sense. My fault, I guess. Wear your hair down to cover your ears and put these sunglasses over your eyes." Kagura did so. "Much better."

"What happened to us?" Kagura asked.

"No idea," Kyo said.

"No idea? No idea?"

"Most people don't believe that you ever existed. How can something happen to something that doesn't exist?" Kyo said. "And when I say 'most,' I'm not talking fifty or sixty percent. I'm talking every-goddamn-body, excepting for crazy old guys with a well in their family shrine and the occasional freak like me. It would almost be more accurate to say that no one believes in demons than to say that most people don't, but never say never, you know what I mean?"

"No, I don't," Kagura said. "Look, even without demons to call on, a sorcerer of your caliber ought to be able to bring a palace down around the ears of its inhabitants.

"Really? How?" Kyo asked, confused.

Was this kid for real? "I don't know, exactly. I'm no sorcerer! You're supposed to have spells, or something, though. Honestly, who taught you this junk?" Kagura asked.

Kyo sighed. "No one taught me."

"That's not possible. How could you do something as complicated and delicate as all this with no training? Tell me the truth."

"Hey, you don't order me about! In fact, isn't the opposite true?" Kyo snapped; Kagura winced. He relented. "Sorry. The truth is, I…hear things. That no one else can."

"Voices?" Kagura asked.

Kyo nodded. "Voices. In my head. They're the one's who told me what to do, but I don't like to talk about them. I've always heard them, you see, but when I tell people about them, they just get scared and give me meds. The meds don't work, so the people keep on being scared, and so I just don't tell people about the voices."

"I still don't know what 'meds' are," Kagura said.

"Medicine. In this case, Medicine for the mind," Kyo said. "There are those who don't consider me to be quite right in the head. Insane, even."

"Wait. I'm bound to you, and you're insane!" Kagura demanded.

"No, people _think_ I'm insane, because I hear voices. Obviously, there is something to the voices, or you wouldn't be here, would you?" Kyo said. "If you told people that you were a five-hundred-year-dead demon recently raised from the grave, they'd think you were crazier than I am. You'd be so full of meds that you wouldn't be able to recall your name, so fast that your head would spin. Unless your demonic body works differently than our human ones, and reject the drugs. God only knows what will happen then."

"Um, right," Kagura said. He had a point, at least about raising her from the dead, and it was said that necromancers could hear the voices of the dead. What worried her was that Kyo seemed to take for granted that the voices didn't have ulterior motives, as ghosts almost always did. Was he that powerful that he could bend spirits to his will, or that naïve that he didn't think to? Either way, it wasn't good for Kagura. "So, where to?"

"That…is a very good question, actually," Kyo said.

"I suggest that we go kill these guys you want dead so that you can unbind me," Kagura said.

"That requires finding them first."

"You don't know where they are!" Kagura demanded

"That's probably a good thing, actually. I would have done something stupid, like attack them on my own," Kyo said. "That would have gotten me nothing but dead."

"So find them!" Kagura said.

"That will take a little planning," Kyo said. "Which takes time. Which means we need someplace where we can stay while we plan."

"You don't have a plan?"

"And what if it turned out that I _couldn't_ raise you from the dead? What happens to my precious plans then? It would hurt enough knowing that the voices really are a delusion, that I really am crazy, without having my hopes for revenge slip through my fingers," Kyo said.

He changed the subject. "I can't go back to the hospital, because they'dbe sure to notice my newly wounded wrist, which means that they'll up my meds and restrict my access to the outside world. Maybe I should just face it. No; I'm not really crazy, as your being here proves, so God only knows what _more_ meds will do to me…what? Tell them the truth? That's crazy! They'll think I'm crazy…Oh, I see. Show them. They won't think _I'm_ crazy, they'll think _they're_ crazy."

"Watching you talk to yourself is really kind of creepy," Kagura said.

"Sorry. I'll try to keep it to a minimum," Kyo said.

"Also, didn't you just say we needed to keep my being a demon secret?" Kagura asked.

"It will just be a handful of people. Don't worry, humans are masters of self-delusion. They'll be too busy trying to convince themselves that they didn't just see a demon to do a decent job trying to recapture me," Kyo said. "If they even report it. They probably won't dare mention you, for fear of being labeled mentally unstable, the way I have been."

" 'Recapture?' 'Restrict your access to the outside world?' Is this a hospital or a prison we're talking about?" Kagura asked.

"A little of both, actually," Kyo said. "And not a very good example of either," he added contemptuously, "though, of course, my opinion is a bit biased, you understand."

"Um, sure," Kagura said.

"Well, before we plan anything in detail, I have to know what you can do. So what can you do?" Kyo asked.

"You don't _know?_ You raised me from the _dead_, and you don't _know?_" Kagura had always heard that raising someone from the dead, truly raising them from the dead, required intimate knowledge of that person, or some such thing. Ah, well. So much for that theory. "My attacks include the Dance of Blades, which--well, I'd better show you."

They left the shrine, and Kagura froze. The air…it smelled…and felt…wrong.

"What is it?" Kyo asked.

"The air. It stinks," Kagura said.

Kyo sniffed loudly. "I don't smell anything," he said.

Kagura stared at him. "Don't tell me you don't smell that. My nose isn't hypersensitive like a dog demon's. The air smells like the burnt wick of a kerosene lamp without kerosene." Also, the very way the wind blew was unnatural. As a kaze youkai, Kagura could listen to the wind and make sense of the stories it told, but what the wind was telling her made no sense at all. This was the first hard proof she had that things were radically different now than they had been in her time. She couldn't really understand everything Kyo had said, true, but by his own admission people thought he was crazy.

"I don't really know what that would smell like," Kyo said. "I believe you were going to show me something?"

Kagura shrugged. She came out and looked around. The temple was in a clearing kind of pleasant, if you were into that sort of thing. "Dance of Blades!" She intoned, cutting down several trees.

"That will come in handy," Kyo said, eyes wide. He composed himself. "What else can you do?"

"Another attack is called the Dance of the Dead. When I do it, I raise corpses--not the way you rose me, of course. Zombies, puppets who do my bidding and attack my enemies," _Which is what he raised you to do. How are you better than a zombie, then?_ She tried to put that out of her mind. "Another attack of mine is the Dance of the Dragon, which creates a small hurricane."

"Cool," Kyo said. "What else can you do?"

She pulled a feather out of her pocket (where she was keeping them with her hair down) and turned it into a big feather. "I fly around on that."

"Transportation. Awesome. No bumming rides off of strangers for us," Kyo said.

There was a loud, rumbling noise that came close but passed them without ever actually crossing paths with them. "What the hell was that? And don't say 'What?'!"

"You mean the car?" Kyo asked.

"What's a 'car?'" Kagura demanded.

"Imagine a horseless carriage, made of metal, capable of reaching speeds of over a hundred miles an hour. In some cases, _way_ over," Kyo said.

"No way," Kagura said.

"Way," Kyo said.

"But how?" Kagura demanded. "I have never heard of any such magic."

"It's not magic. It's technology," Kyo said. "Behold: the World of Tomorrow." For some reason, that last sentence sounded like a quote. "Impressive, no?"

"No," Kagura said.

"Just you wait until you see it. Try not to look _too_ awed by everything you see in the city. Just a little we can pass off as you being a country bumpkin," Kyo said.

Nothing humans make can awe me," Kagura said haughtily. She put the feather away.

"We shall see," Kyo said skeptically. "I don't suppose you can make this heal faster, can you?"

"No," Kagura said.

"It figures," Kyo said. "Well, come on. Oh, wait, I'd better put this back." Kyo walked into the shrine and walked out unarmed. He walked into the woods.

The calm and incautious way that he carried himself told Kagura that it was going to be her job to protect him. Foolish boy. He didn't order it, so the ties that bound them didn't compel her to obey. If anything attacked and killed him, she'd be free. She soon realized she read it all wrong, however. He was incautious because there was nothing to be cautious about. She scoured the woods with her heightened senses for any sign of demonic activity, and found nothing. Even the natural beasts were all of the small, harmless variety. Then they came across the road, and that alone almost made Kagura's jaw drop. This was not a road, not like they had back in her time. This was a river of black stone poured in a wide line across the earth. Kagura thought she hid her astonishment well. Apparently not.

"If you think that _that_ is impressive, you haven't seen anything yet," Kyo said. As if to vouch for the truth of this statement. A metal horseless carriage sped down the road at an impossibly high speed. There was that noise again.

"That is a car?" Kagura asked.

"Well, that one was a truck, but both are automobiles, yes," Kyo said.

"Automobile. Self-mobile, mobile without an external source of motion. That's a good name for those metal contraptions," Kagura said.

"Um, if you say so," Kyo said. "But for the record, try to refrain from dissecting everyday words like they're new to you, even though most of them are. Say, uh, We're a little distant from where I'm supposed to be, so maybe we should use that feather-thing?"

Was he _asking?_ He didn't know much about this whole having dominion over another person thing, did he? Ah, well; Kagura wasn't about to complain. "Sure."

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Naraku had always had a plan before he did anything, and that plan was always meticulous and multifaceted. This kid was making it up as he went along, with no real idea about what he was doing.

Kyo was talking to people who Kagura assumed was his family for a while, and then they all got in one of those automobiles Kyo had told her about, and they drove away. Kagura followed, flying high above them on her feather.

The city below her was…amazing. It was a city of glass and metal, of impossibly tall buildings. What was the purpose of so many so-tall buildings? It was hard to believe that humans had created these structures, but there was no aura about them, or about the automobiles, for that matter. There was no magic involved in this, demonic, spiritual, or otherwise. Which didn't seem possible. How could those metal beasts move, if not by magic? Metal beasts…she had a sudden image of a world full of Ginkotsus, and shuddered. She had only known him and the rest of the Band of Seven for a little while, before they were killed by InuYasha and their own internal squabbles, but even so, he freaked her out. Not that she would admit it to anyone, of course.

She watched as they parked the automobile in some sort of lot apparently made for the purpose and entered a building with bars on the window. It wasn't impossibly tall like the metal-and-glass buildings and it was made out of bricks, which was a familiar enough building material to Kagura. But it was built in a design she had never seen before. And it had bars on the windows.

They didn't actually have a plan. Kyo just guessed--or was told by his voices, whatever--that he could contact her with psychic power and tell her where to attack, when, and what to do. What if that didn't work? He'd be in there with no way to contact her…no way to order her around. Hmm. She realized that it wouldn't be such a bad thing if it didn't work. He'd be safely locked away and unable to give the orders that she was compelled to obey, and so she…she'd be free. Finally, she would be free. Free as the wind. She flew heavenward on her feather. The air was not as clean as she remembered, but no matter. She was free.

And then she felt it. She saw herself going down to the ugly brick building and cutting a hole in one of the walls. She felt herself compelled to do just that, and she did, sighing mentally. "Dance of blades!" The wall crumbled and fell outward onto the sidewalk. Inside the room were two very shocked people in white, a man and a woman, who seemed to be employees at this place, and between them was Kyo. She flew in there and "parked" the feather where he could get on it.

He smiled, and pulled himself free of their now-loose grip. "I told you it was going to be amazing," he said to them, like he couldn't resist a parting shot. "And the best part is, even with this hole in the wall, they will never believe you." He hopped onto the feather, "Let's go." They left.

"Where to now?" Kagura asked.

Kyo thought about that. "There's one person I think I can trust…but I haven't seen him in years. Ah, well. We'll see how strong the bonds of friendship really are."


	2. Old Friends, Old Enemies

Ties That Bind

S-Michael

Chapter 2:

Old Friends, Old Enemies

Kyo stared over the side of the feather at the countryside speeding by. "Amazing," he said.

"What?" Kagura asked.

"This. Unaided flight. I feel…I feel like I want to just fly off, just you and me, and leave our troubles behind. And be free. Free as the wind," he said. Kagura had thought that many times in her short life. Unfortunately, her troubles were riding in the feather behind her. "But I know that no matter how far I run, I will never be free. Not until…certain people pay for what they did. What will you do, when we have done this?"

Kagura shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care. All that matters is that I'll be free. I'll do anything I want," _with no masters to say otherwise._

"Sounds nice," Kyo said wistfully.

Kagura started to recognize her surroundings. Not in specifics, those had changed over the centuries, but in general. "This friend who we are going to see? What did you say his name was again?"

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Souta walked into his house, shrugged off his backpack, and plopped down on the sofa. He was about to turn on the television, when his cell phone rang. It was a present for his fifteenth birthday, just a few months back. Without looking at the caller ID, he put it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's InuYasha," the phone said.

"Oh, hi. What's up?" Souta said.

"Thank god it's you! I accidentally called three strangers so far," InuYasha said.

Souta shook his head and smiled. "You've living been in the modern era for how long now?" he asked rhetorically. Long enough to have picked up the expression _thank god_, at any rate.

"Hey, I'm calling from a frickin' payphone, alright? Why on earth would you people use these things when you have cell phones?" InuYasha asked.

"They're mostly just relics from a time before cell phones," Souta said.

InuYasha snorted. "Figures. It works while my cell is being a bastard, ironically."

"Landlines don't rely on radio waves, and hence never lose a signal," Souta said.

"Sounds interesting," InuYasha lied. "Look, I just wanted to call to tell you that Kagome and I were coming over."

"That's all?" Souta asked. Considering the kind of change he must have wasted on that thing, that was a pretty unimportant message, but InuYasha had always been stubborn, and damn if an inanimate object was going to get the best of him. "So, how's college been treating you?" It had been hard to pull together a fake identity for InuYasha, but they couldn't exactly say that the reason he didn't have a birth certificate was that he was a half demon born seven centuries ago and brought to the future through a magic well, so…well, you had to do what you had to do.

"Difficult, but I'm getting by," InuYasha said. "English especially. The teacher is from America--a nation that didn't even exist in my time, in a continent no one had ever heard of! It's just such a…a _confusing_ language. And written exclusively in this damn Roman alphabet, too! Rome; somewhere _else_ I had never heard of. There is certainly a lot of world in the world, isn't there?" Was he being…philosophical? Nah. Probably just complaining.

"So, when are you arriving?" Souta asked.

"Oh, twenty, thirty minutes," InuYasha said. "I'd just run there, but that would draw _undue attention_ to myself. I have to wait for Kagome to get ready." Since he had decided to live in the modern era with Kagome, he had to hide what he was truly capable of. Kagome was the only one of either of them who had a drivers' license, and so he couldn't leave without her.

"See you then," Souta hung up, and focused on the TV. Then he heard a knock on the door. The back door, oddly enough. Mumbling something about interruptions, he got up and checked it out. He opened the door and saw a boy and a woman riding a giant feather that was levitating a few feet above the ground.

"Souta!" the boy said. He sounded familiar…

"Kyo? I haven't seen you in years! Who's your friend?" Souta asked.

Kyo's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You're taking this well."

"Long story," Souta said. "I'm guessing that this is, as well."

"Not really," Kyo said. "This is Kagura, a demon I released from where an ancestor of mine, the great monk Miroku, sealed her five hundred years ago."

Kagura. Miroku. Souta knew these names. He knew from what his sister said pretty much who they were. He knew enough to know that it wouldn't be a good thing to let Kagura know how he was tied to some of her worst enemies. "And _why_ did you raise her?" he asked as though the name Kagura meant nothing to him.

"_That's_ a long story," Kyo said. "Can we come in?"

"Sure." It was too late to act like the fact that Kagura was a demon blew his mind, and Souta couldn't see think of any other reason to keep them outside. He led them into the living room. InuYahsa had a dog's nose. He'd be able to smell Kagura, right? Then again, she came in the back door, so if the wind was blowing wrong…he didn't know. Either way, as long as he didn't do anything to get himself killed in--he discreetly looked for a clock--however long he had left until InuYasha and Kagome showed up, he'd be alright.

"Amazing," Kagura said when she saw the TV. "That has _got_ to be magical, and yet…no aura, or anything else of a magical nature."

"Not magic. Technology," Kyo said. "Technology is based on science, on knowing and understanding how the physical universe works, and using that knowledge to your advantage. Magic is…what _is_ magic, anyway?"

Kagura's eyes widened. "You don't know? You're a sorcerer, and you don't _know?_"

"It just seems to be a natural ability with me," Kyo said. "Any specific knowledge I have…well, I already told you where it comes from."

Something he didn't want Souta to know? That was good; it meant that Souta would have something to bring up if Kyo and Kagura wanted to know why he was dealing with the presence of a demon so well.

"So, Kyo, why did you do it?" Hopefully, Souta would not have to so much as speak again until InuYasha and Kagome showed up.

When Kyo looked at him, he looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Why do you think? There's only one thing that has ever happened to me that could possibly lead me to--this."

Souta forgot about Kagura, about InuYasha, about Kagome, because Kyo was his friend, and he was reminded of that with the force of being hit with a Mac truck. He was certainly as numb as if he were. He remembered Kyo crying, miserable and broken and utterly helpless. He remembered when Kyo stopped crying, unable to shed another tear, broken, helpless, and as dead on the inside as surely as Kikyo ever was. He remembered never seeing or hearing from Kyo again. "You're--"

"Yes," Kyo said. "I'm going to kill them. Every last one of them."

The comparison to Kikyo was fitting: like her, Kyo had latched onto the single most traumatic experience in his entire life and refused to let go, to move on. Kikyo eventually found peace, allowed her soul to move on and her body to die (which, when you think about it, would have had to happen eventually; how could Kagome be her reincarnation if she refused to give up her if she didn't?), but could Kyo move on? Souta also knew from another lovely little tale his sister told him that if your heart was filled with enough rage, you could become a ghost, and if you never got over your rage, even as a ghost…you faced damnation in a very real way. So not only did he have Kyo's life to be fearful for, but the state of his immortal soul. Swell.

Still…he thought about what Kagome and InuYasha had told him about Kagura. Her weapon was the wind. No fingerprints, no bullet fragments that can be traced to a gun he stole from Uncle Whoever, no DNA. Air could not be traced. Kyo could not have picked a better murder weapon, especially since he could be making an alibi for himself on the other side of Japan while the demon did his dirty work…not that he would. No, with this kind of hate, he'd want to see it himself. "You didn't just stop by to say hello, did you?"

Kyo shook his head solemnly. "We need a place to crash while we…gather information." By which he meant names, addresses, and phone numbers, among other things. Souta didn't want to think about what he'd have to do to get all the information he needed--dangle a cop or two from a thousand feet in the air and threaten to let go, for example.

"What about your aunt and uncle?" Souta asked.

"Do you really think that they would tolerate Kagura's presence, even if I didn't tell them why she was there?" Kyo asked.

Souta's parents had let a teenage girl run around a demon-infested feudal Japan hunting mystical jewel shards and battling ridiculously omnipotent bad guys. Unsupervised. Missing weeks of school at a time while she did so. "Uh…I guess not."

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InuYasha had two very compelling reasons for coming to the future with Kagome. The first was logical: There were no demons in the future, which meant that sometime in the next five hundred years, all the demons died. The humans barely even remembered them, what they did remember was just myths and legends that people didn't even pretend to believe in, the way they pretended to believe in Christianity. (They got mad if you told them that they were faking their faith but they were. He had read their bible, and they didn't know half of what was in there.) He decided that he didn't want to know when he was going to die, five hundred years being well within his perspective lifespan. The second reason was emotional: He loved Kagome. He wasn't sure how, or why, and it made no real sense whatsoever, but it was true.

The question was, did he love her enough? Enough to trade centuries as a hanyou (or millennia as a youkai) for years as a human? He would have done it for Kikyo. There was no question as to his devotion to Kikyo, though. He had loved her with everything that he was…there was no love like your first love, was there? Besides, when Kikyo sealed him to the tree, it damaged his ability to love. He knew that it was a trick of Naraku's…intellectually; emotionally, he still felt betrayed. The depth of his emotion was so much that he forgave her, even before he knew that it was a trick, but watching her die, for fake and for real all served to wound his already wounded heart.

He loved Kagome, but he did not trust her. He did not trust her not to hurt him, he did not trust her not to leave him, he did not trust her not to die on him. That's what humans did. They died. InuYasha had been around for a century and a half (time that elapsed while he was bound to that tree or between the two ends of the Bone Eater's Well doesn't count), and in that time, he had learned that. Dying was what humans did. Be it of disease or of war or of old age, humans died. It wasn't smart to get too attached to them. Humans died of all sorts of things. It was the only thing you could trust was true about them.

And yet, he had gotten attached to them, not once, but twice, not including when he was too young to know any better. Or, since they had the same soul, could it be said that he fell in love with the same woman twice? That didn't seem right. Kagome and Kikyo had little in common, aside from being unreasonably stubborn (he didn't think this with any irony, but part of him thought there should have been). Kikyo's unwavering dedication had been charming, if at times annoying. With Kagome, vice versa. Perhaps it would be best to use the Shikon Jewel to become human. Did he really want to live for centuries in a world filled with nothing but humans? Did he really want to see the woman he loved die, again?

Whatever he decided, it had best be soon. In just a handful of years, he'd be too "young" for Kagome! It didn't really matter to InuYasha how old Kagome was, he'd stay with her until she died, but to Kagome it might matter. Humans weren't exactly the most socially flexible of people, after all. If people saw a ninety-year-old (humans regularly reached that age in this era) woman with a teenage boy, they would talk. Right now, at least, InuYasha could just say he was young for his age. He didn't look like he was twentiy, but he and Kagome had started going to college at the same time, and he voted, so people didn't question him too much--what was that?

InuYasha heard something: "So, Kyo, why did you do it?" Souta's voice. He hadn't mentioned having a guest over when InuYasha had called him.

There was another voice, pain-filled, almost pleading. "Why do you think? There's only one thing that has ever happened to me that could possibly lead me to--this." What was going on here?

Souta gasped. "You're--"

"Yes," Kyo said. "I'm going to kill them. Every last one of them."

InuYasha sped up his pace. Just a little bit. If Souta was in danger, he'd bust the door down to get in there and protect him, but that didn't seem to be the case…yet.

"You didn't just stop by to say hello, did you?" Souta asked flatly.

"We need a place to crash while we…gather information."

"What about your aunt and uncle?" Souta asked.

"Do you really think that they would tolerate Kagura's presence, even if I didn't tell them why she was there?" Kyo asked.

_Kagura!_ No, it couldn't be. She was dead! Technically, she was centuries dead. Could it be a coincidence? He didn't want to risk it, but he didn't want to reveal himself for what he was if this "Kagura" was just a girl who had parents with a whimsical taste in names.

"Uh…I guess not," Souta said.

The wind changed, and he could smell her. Kagura. She had been in the back yard. In spite of every logical sense he had. InuYasha ran at the door and threw it open the bang announcing his arrival. "Kagura!"

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_Man, Souta is going to freak!_ Kyo thought as he knocked on the back door. The door opened, he called his boyhood friend's name, but he didn't freak. He was surprised, shocked, even, granted, but not _freaked_. Not the way you'd expect of someone who is seeing two people riding on a giant feather.

"Kyo? I haven't seen you in years! Who's your friend?" Souta asked.

Kyo's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You're taking this well."

"Long story," Souta said. "I'm guessing that this is, as well."

"Not really," Kyo said. "This is Kagura, a demon I released from where an ancestor of mine, the great monk Miroku, sealed her five hundred years ago."

Souta nodded. "And _why_ did you raise her?"

"_That's_ a long story," Kyo confessed. "Can we come in?"

"Sure," Souta said. He was taking this _really_ well.

They walked into the living room, and Kagura was immediately transfixed by the television, which was tuned in to some show. He explained to her that it wasn't magic, then tried to explain the difference between magic and technology, but realized that he didn't even know what magic _was_.

Kagura's eyes widened. "You don't know? You're a sorcerer, and you don't _know?_"

"It just seems to be a natural ability with me," Kyo said defensively. "Any specific knowledge I have…" he realized something: he didn't want Souta to think he was crazy! Even with living proof right in front of them that he was right and the mental health professionals at the asylum were wrong, he was afraid to tell Souta that he heard voices and that those voices told him what to do. Souta was his best friend when he was a kid, and he hadn't made any friends since, between grieving and later being thrown into a loony bin. "…well, I already told you where it comes from."

Souta nodded. Of course he was curious, but he could see that Kyo didn't want to talk about it. "So, Kyo, why did you do it?"

Kyo looked at the ground, sighed. He looked back into Souta's eyes, pleading for him to understand. "Why do you think? There's only one thing that has ever happened to me that could possibly lead me to--this." He knew his voice broke, but didn't care. His emotions were just that powerful. He almost felt like he was going to cry. Almost.

Souta's eyes widened. He understood. "You're--"

"Yes," Kyo said. "I'm going to kill them. Every last one of them."

Souta stared at him, and Kyo could almost hear the gears in his head turning as he tried to process this information. He also kind of felt sorry for Kagura. She must feel like they were intentionally keeping secrets from her. It wasn't that, it was just…it was hard to talk about. He didn't break eye contact with Souta, begging him to help, daring him to try to stop him.

He knew that Kagura was still watching TV, though. He could feel her, with senses he didn't even know he had until he had raised her. Then he realized he felt something else. Something different. With Kagura, he could feel the warmth of her aura on his skin like a blanket, taste her heartbeat; it was like he could wrap her essence around him and make a nice little nest for himself, a shell to protect him. He thought, if he tried, he could read her mind or see through her eyes. This other thing, it was far less intimate. Maybe it wasn't as powerful as Kagura, or not as demonic, or maybe just not as thoroughly tied to him as she was. Whatever the case, he decided to ignore it. It probably had nothing to do with him.

"You didn't just stop by to say hello, did you?" Souta asked flatly.

Kyo shook his head solemnly. "We need a place to crash while we…gather information." Souta knew exactly what he meant by "gather information," it showed.

"What about your aunt and uncle?" Souta asked, grasping at a straw.

Kyo looked at him like he had just said something really stupid, which he had. "Do you really think that they would tolerate Kagura's presence, even if I didn't tell them why she was there?"

"Uh…I guess not," Souta said. Kyo got the impression that Souta found something funny, but didn't ask. It was probably an inane inside joke that was totally irrelevant to the situation.

Kyo didn't get the chance to ask anything, because the door flew open. "Kagura!" a man with white hair and dog ears shouted. He had been what Kyo had sensed. Fantastic; he had raised the one five-hundred-year-dead demon who had living enemies in the world.

"InuYasha!" Kagura said, drawing her fans. They charged each other.

"No!" Kyo shouted, forgetting momentarily that Kagura would be compelled to do anything he said.

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"Kagura!" InuYasha shouted.

Kagura was momentarily shocked. What was this specter from her past life doing here? She got over it quickly, though. "InuYasha!" She drew her fans, ready to fight. She stepped forward and began to do the Dance of Blades attack, but then she heard Kyo shout "No!"

Against her volition, her body froze mid-move, and InuYasha Got off his Iron Reaver Soul Stealer, tearing out a chunk of her anatomy below her ribs and above her liver. Demons being made of tougher stuff than humans, Kagura could survive the blow, but she wouldn't recover in time to stop InuYasha from ripping her limb from limb and beating her to death with her own hands. Demons had a sick sense of humor like that.

Great; it was InuYasha and his human friends who had killed her in her last life. Now he was going to do it again. The gods had a mean sense of irony, but of course, what else was new? How had he even found her? Then again, this was somewhere around the town where Kaede had lived. Maybe he had just stuck around here for five hundred years? No way. Then again, maybe…

Kagura noticed she wasn't dead. Kyo was doing something to InuYasha.

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Souta was pushed to the floor. It didn't register until he hit that Kyo had done it. Why? Souta began to get up.

"Stay down, Souta," Kyo said. Souta looked up at him. He was standing, feet wide apart, staring at InuYasha unblinkingly, moving his fist in the palm of his left hand like a pestle in a mortar. InuYasha was clutching his chest.

Souta realized what was going on: To Kyo, it must have looked like a random demon (if there were such a thing) had just ran in here started trying to kill them. He was trying to protect them. He was trying to protect Souta from InuYasha. And he was going to kill InuYasha.

"Kyo, don't! InuYasha's a good guy!" Souta pleaded, but Kyo was beyond the point where he could hear a word he said.

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"InuYasha!" Kagura said, preparing to attack.

InuYasha charged her.

"No!" a voice shouted. It was the boy who was talking with Souta--Kyo. And yet, it was also…more. Like the command of some god. He stalled. Stalled enough to throw off his aim, to miss Kagura's heart.

She survived the attack. It was actually better this way; now InuYasha could question her to find out why she was here--how it was even possible for her to be here! She was dead. She should have been dead. Why didn't she stay dead?

InuYasha was thrown back by some invisible force, and caught by it again. He lunged at it, and he encountered barrier. All around him. The barrier was surrounding _him_, like the inverse of Naraku's barrier.

There was something here, something other than Kagura. If he hadn't been out of practice from a couple of years of living in the magic-free, preternaturally-sterile modern era, he wouldn't have missed it, but he had. He had let his sense that dealt with things other than the physical go lax, and so he was caught completely by surprise. He ought to have been ashamed of himself, and he would be, provided that he survived.

He felt the barrier shrink around him, and then Kyo changed his strategy. InuYasha felt a cold hand grasp his heart and squeeze. Slowly. Letting him feel it as it killed him.

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Kagura froze. InuYasha stumbled, but he recovered. Kagura didn't. Kyo realized that that was his fault: he had said no. She had to obey. Kagura was cut down. Kyo felt it like a wound to himself. She wasn't dead, but she wouldn't be able to recover before this "InuYasha" finished the job. He pushed Souta to the ground and got bodily between him and the demon, telling him to stay down when he protested. He wasn't going to be responsible for his friends' deaths.

_Create a barrier,_ the Voice said. He imagined a barrier surrounding InuYasha and most of the room, and then he shrunk it. InuYasha bodily flew across the room when it hit him, only to hit the other side of it before reaching the door. He shrunk it rapidly, planning on squeezing him to a bloody pulp. _No; his heart. Grab his heart and squeeze the life from it. Do it slowly. Make him suffer._ And it made sense, too: InuYasha _should_ suffer. He barged in here, trying to kill Kagura, Souta, and himself. He had hurt Kagura, and the mystical ties that bound the two together wouldn't let him take that lightly. They wouldn't have been very good if they had. Yes, he would make InuYasha suffer, just as the Voices suggested.

Souta said something, but Kyo didn't hear it. He was engulfed in the power, and his purpose was clear. _Suffer, InuYasha!_ "Die, InuYasha!"


	3. Explanations and Introductions

Author's Note: Sorry if I reiterate basic info, or if there are inconsistencies between this chapter and earlier chapters, but my computer crashed, and I'm starting this chapter from scratch. On my mom's computer. Also, for the aforementioned reason, it'll take longer for additional chapters to come out than it should.

Ties That Bind

S-Michael

Chapter Three

Explanations and Introductions

As they approached the house, Kagome could sense that there was something there, something immensely powerful, but somehow familiar, and it made no effort to hide its presence. She didn't know what to make of it, though, until InuYasha started running. He made it to the house in a couple of bounds, and Kagome ran after him as fast as she could.

When she sensed InuYasha begin to weaken, she added a burst of speed that she didn't even know she had. She thought she had been running full out before. She got to the door and saw InuYasha clutching at his heart. She tried to get to him, but he was under a barrier. Not caring that the only good she was probably going to do was breaking her own stupid neck, she ran head on into the barrier.

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_Suffer, InuYasha!_ "Die, InuYasha!" Kyo shouted as he clutched the demon's heart in his metaphysical hands and slowly squeezed the life out of him. He was in a trance, single-minded, determined, and nothing on Heaven or Earth could stop him.

Kyo felt cold, analytical, almost impersonal as he stole the demon's life. It was so…so easy. So _right_. The power flowed from him into InuYasha in the form of a spell of death. There was nothing else in that moment. Kyo heard nothing, smelled nothing, felt nothing, and all he was was magic. He saw himself squeezing InuYasha's heart like he had x-ray vision.

Something hit his power. It was like a fly hitting a windshield, but it tried to force itself through--not a smart thing to do when every cell in Kyo's body was screaming _Kill!_ A pulse rippled through his shield to shake the invader loose, knocking it to the floor, breathless.

_Kill the interferer!_ the voices shouted.

"Kagome! Run!" the demon shouted.

Wait…Kagome? As in, Souta's older sister, Kagome? Why was she helping this demon? Why was he concerned with her safety, when he was about to die himself? _Who cares?_ demanded the voices, bent on bloodlust. _Kill them both! Kill them now! _No! I will not kill Kagome! And if this demon is with her…well, I'll give him a chance to explain himself.

The power subsided, Kyo returned to the world of the living, and he saw what his power had done. The place was in shambles, as if a hurricane had passed through this house--and one had! There were scorch marks on the floor where his barriers had been, and somehow, the toaster had gotten out here and on the floor. Nothing else from the kitchen had gotten out here, just the toaster. He would have wondered about that, but he was too busy making sure that he hadn't of killed Kagome.

Kyo ran for the door, dodging around the demon, InuYasha, who was gasping for air, trying to regain his breath after coming within an inch from death. "Kagome, are you alright?"

Kagome opened her eyes. "Kohaku?"

Why did that name sound familiar? Ah, well, that wasn't important right now; what was important was that she was alive. Kyo smiled. "No, it's Kyo, remember?"

"Kyo? Haven't seen you in forever. What are you doing here?" Kagome asked. Something about the way she was looking at him made him nervous, like she saw something she didn't like.

"It seems our demon friends have met," Kyo said.

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Huh? What was he talking about? Demon friends? Kagome knew that she was staring, but she couldn't help herself. Most of the time when someone had a lot of spiritual or demonic power, they looked like they were in a cloud of mist to what Kagome loosely referred to as her ability to sense. She'd been reading up, and she thought that it was their aura. This kid was under a waterfall that followed him wherever he went. _A waterfall from where?_ Good question, but trying to look up it make her brain hurt.

"Kagura, this is Kagome; Kagome, Kagura," Kyo said.

_Kagura!_ No, it couldn't be…could it?

"We've met," Kagura said dryly.

"That's not possible, Kagura," Kyo said. "You've been dead for five hundred years."

"I've met her, and what's more, she's part of the reason that I died," Kagura said.

"Kagome wasn't around five hundred years ago," Kyo said reasonably. "I grew up with these people. I'd notice if she didn't age, and she's obviously not old enough."

"Actually, she's right," Kagome said.

"What? How is that possible?" the boy was confused.

"InuYasha and I can sort of travel through time," Kagome said.

Kyo stared at her, "You…can travel through time. And instead of, I don't know, rescuing the dodo from extinction or playing the stock market or something, you run around feudal Japan."

"The Bone Eater's Well only goes to the Feudal Era and back," Kagome said.

Kagura snapped her fingers, "I knew that this place felt familiar."

InuYasha got up, and grabbed Kyo by the scruff of his shirt, lifting him off the ground.

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InuYasha hadn't really expected to connect. He was just being hotheaded. Who'd have thought after trying to kill him the boy would let InuYasha toss him about like a rag doll? Kyo didn't fight back, though. He barely even reacted.

When you pick someone up and start manhandling them, you tend to get a reaction. Some people fight back, some people beg for their lives, angry or scared, you tend to set off a fight-or-flight response when you do that to someone. Kyo did not get angry, he did not get scared. His heartbeat didn't even increase--and InuYasha would have been able to hear it if it had. He did not give off the smells that humans gave off when they were afraid or angry or scared or anything like that.

"Who are you, what are you doing with Kagura, and what is she doing alive?" InuYasha demanded.

"Kagura is alive because I revived her and bound her to my will, what I'm doing with her is none of your business, and I am Kyo, if you didn't hear us talking," Kyo said calmly.

Talking about what he was doing with Kagura made him uncomfortable, judging by his body language, heart rate, and a dozen things that no human could have seen, heard, or smelled but InuYasha picked up on in an instant. That was kind of odd, since he didn't seem the least disturbed by the fact that he was hanging in midair. The look in his eye was…well, it was dead. That was the only word for it. Dead. Dull. Apathetic.

"InuYasha, what are you doing?" Kagome asked.

InuYasha snapped out of it. He hadn't even realized he was in a trance! He dropped Kyo, "I thought I was beyond letting sorcerers hypnotize me with their eyes," he said disgustedly.

"Sorcerer?" Kagome asked.

"I did not hypnotize you," Kyo said dismissively.

InuYasha looked at him, careful not to look directly into his eyes. The human body did things when it lied, just like when it was scared or angry--which was how a lie detector worked. InuYasha could pick up on all the things a lie detector could and more. He was telling the truth; Kyo didn't realize he had hypnotized InuYasha. That scared InuYasha. If he could do that on _accident_, what could he do when he tried?

"How could you have possibly raised Kagura from the dead?" InuYasha demanded.

"I am a descendant of the man who sealed her away, the great monk Miroku," Kyo said.

" 'Great monk,'" InuYasha snorted, "that lecher?"

"My ancestor was _not_ a lecher," Kyo protested.

"I know the guy, and trust me, he's a lech," InuYasha said.

Kagome nodded. "First time we met, he groped my butt," she said.

"You're making this up," Kyo said.

"He groped someone at his own wedding," InuYasha said.

"Nuh-uh," Kyo said.

"Yeah-huh. We were there," Kagome said.

"Look, we'll talk about this later, okay?" Kyo said. "I told you how I ended up with Kagura, now you tell me how you ended up with InuYasha."

"Kagome fell down the well and came out in the Feudal Era," Souta said. "She met the half-demon InuYasha, who could travel back and forth through the well with her because she was the reincarnation of his soul mate, a priestess named Kikyo, and hence also his soul mate, or something or other. She shattered the Shikon Jewel, which is this very powerful…thing, and then they had to look for the shards and put it back together. Then some witch person revives Kikyo, and she accuses InuYasha of killing her. Then they met a lecherous monk named Miroku--"

"My ancestor was _not_ a lech!" Kyo protested.

"--who told them that this bastard demon shape-shifter named Naraku was responsible for Kikyo's death, and so then killing him became their mission. Naraku was then revealed to be a bunch of demons who attached themselves to a bandit named Onigumo, blah, blah, blah. Point is that because he was made of demons, he had the ability to make other demons out of his flesh, sort of an asexual reproduction thing."

"Gross," Kyo said.

"Well, the first two demons he made were Kanna and Kagura, who attacked Kagome, InuYasha, and Miroku--oh, wait, or was it they attacked a town and then they saved it? I forget. Ah, well, not important. Anyway, Kanna had this mirror thing and could reflect attacks, and Kagura…well, you know Kagura. "

Souta inhaled deeply. "Moving on, Naraku then tricked a village of demon slayers into a trap, and when one of them survived, he blamed it on InuYasha. Naraku's a dick like that. So then Sango--that's the demon slayer's name--attacks Kagome and her friends, specifically InuYasha. She then learned that they were the good guys and joined up with them. Then, being the dick that he was, Naraku revived Sango's little brother, Kohaku, but brainwashed him and ordered him to kill them. No wait, he told Sango that he'd give him back if she stole InuYasha's sword.--"

"I don't see a sword," Kyo said.

"I don't exactly take it everywhere with me," InuYasha said. "It would attract attention."

"You have golden eyes, white hair to your knees, and dog ears," Kyo pointed out.

"I can cover the dog ears with a hat, and the rest doesn't necessarily mean that I'm not human," InuYasha said.

"Anyway, Naraku's minions now consist of Kanna, Kagura, and Kohaku," Souta said. "He makes others, and tricks others into doing his dirty work, but they don't usually last nearly as long as these ones did. Eventually, Naraku is killed, Kikyo finds peace and moves on to the next world, Miroku and Sango get married, and InuYasha came over to this side to live with Kagome."

"Why didn't you let me tell my own story?" Kagome asked.

"Because I know you. You would have taken forever," Souta said.

"Well, that's…complicated," Kyo said. "You guys aren't going to try to kill each other again, are you?"

"I don't have anything personal against InuYasha," Kagura said. "Even though he killed me."

"As long as she doesn't try to hurt anybody, it isn't my concern," InuYasha said. "My beef was with Naraku."

"Good, because we need a place to crash," Kyo said. "Although, how we're going to explain this to Souta's parents…"

"Oh, they know about this kind of stuff," Kagome said. "I was running around the Feudal Era, remember?"

Kyo's eyes widened, "Your parents let a teenage girl screw around with space-time and continuity? Can you imagine the implications that could have insued?"

"Like what?" Souta asked.

"Oh, I don't know…you said that Kagome was a reincarnation of Kikyo, right? What if something she did impaired her from being able to move on to the next world, and then Kagome would never have been born?" Kyo suggested. "Not to mention the relatively mundane danger of being eaten by a demon."

"I don't think anyone ever called being eaten by a demon 'relatively mundane,'" Kagura commented.

"Compared to screwing things over so that you were never born, it _is_ relatively mundane," Kyo said. "So, Souta, can we crash?"

"Can't I talk you out of doing this," Souta asked. "Please. Revenge isn't worth it."

Kyo shook his head. "Revenge is all I have left."

"How can revenge be all you have left? You're a teenager!" Souta demanded.

"What are you talking about?" InuYasha asked.

"Kyo plans on killing the people who murdered his family," Souta said.

"Kyo, you can't," Kagome said.

"Yes, I can, now that I have Kagura," Kyo said. "I don't _have_ anything to live for. Those people destroyed my life; why should I let them keep theirs?" He sighed. "Look, can I stay here or not?"

"Yeah," Souta said. "Of course you can, Kyo."

Kyo nodded. "Thank you."

"I'm not letting Kagura stay that close to Souta unsupervised," InuYasha said.

Kagura smiled wickedly, "What? Don't you trust me not to kill your loved ones?"

"Better safe than sorry," InuYasha said.

Kagome sighed. "I suppose we can stay in my old room," she said.

"You don't need to worry. The ties that bind her to me are strong," Kyo said. "Besides, if you stay there, where are Kagura and I supposed to sleep?"

"We have a couch, but one of you will have to sleep on the floor with a sleeping bag," Souta said.

"I'll do it. I've slept in much worse positions," Kagura said.

"You're so considerate," Kyo said.

"Shut up," Kagura said.

"So, what's on?" Kyo asked, flipping through the channels. "Ooh, _Zatch Bell_."

Souta raised an eyebrow. "You like that show?"

"Sure," Kyo said. "The main character has the same name that I do."

"Oh, yeah. I hadn't noticed that before now," Souta said.

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"So, tell me about this Naraku," Kyo said.

"He was an evil son of a bitch who stole my heart," Kagura said.

"You fell for him?" Something about that seemed sick and wrong.

"Ew, no. I mean, he _literally_ stole my heart, and if I didn't obey him, he'd kill me," Kagura said.

"Oh," Kyo said.

"He sent me on missions that were the next thing to suicidal, fighting people I didn't really want to fight…I'm no pacifist or anything, but those people had never done anything to me. I didn't have anything against them. Whatever he wanted me to do, I had to do it, because at any moment he could kill me." She slammed her fist into the ground. "It wasn't fair, damn it. Yeah, I know, what is, but still, I am the wind! I am meant to be free! And that bastard caged me."

"I'm sorry," Kyo said softly.

"For what?" Kagura asked.

"Binding you to my will," Kyo said. "I didn't know what your life was like, and then you died without even knowing freedom. It…well, it's cruel."

"Hey, now," Kagura said. "You're nothing like Naraku, and besides, you promised to free me once we were done, doing your one thing, right?"

"Of course," Kyo said.

"See? I'll be free, for the first time in my life, and it'll be all thanks to you," Kagura said. _What am I doing? Why am I comforting him?_ Maybe it was just that he reminded her of Kohaku…

"Kagura?" he asked.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"What do you plan on doing when you're free?" Kyo asked.

"I think we had this conversation before," Kagura said.

"Did we?" Kyo asked.

"I'm pretty sure," Kagura said.

"Tell me anyway," Kyo said. "Please."

"I'll go wherever the winds take me. I do whatever I want whenever I want wherever I want," Kagura said.

"Is there room on that trip for two?" Kyo asked.

Kagura turned her head to look at him. "What do you mean, Kyo?"

"This world has nothing for me, Kagura," Kyo said. "My life means nothing to me. I want vengeance, and after that…after that, there is nothing. When I'm with you, I feel…safe, I guess. Safe within my own skin, you know what I'm saying?"

"Not a clue," Kagura said.

"I suppose not. You don't know what it is to be weak," Kyo said.

"You're the most powerful…_anything_…I have ever met," Kagura pointed out.

"Yeah, as of twelve hours ago," Kyo said sarcastically. "So I have power over demons. There aren't any demons in today's world. No demons, no gods, no magic. Maybe I'm powerful, or maybe it all just built up over the course of my lifetime and had no outlet."

"I'm pretty sure magic doesn't work like that," Kagura said.

"The point is, without you, I'm nothing. I'm a sorcerer. All of my powers are demon related," Kyo said.

"What about that thing you did to InuYasha?" Kagura asked.

"He's a demon," Kyo said.

"Half-demon, actually," Kagura said.

"Same difference," Kyo said dismissively. "It was his demonic blood that allowed me to do what I did to him. Really, what are the odds that there's going to be another demon or half-demon running around the modern era? I could be the most powerful sorcerer that there ever was, and it wouldn't make a difference, because my power is useless in this world. You are all I have."

He was looking at her pleadingly, but she didn't know what he was pleading for. Maybe for help, but no, he could order her to do whatever he wanted. Maybe for her to understand. Maybe he didn't even know what he was pleading for. Or maybe, he was pleading for her to not hold him to his promise of freeing her. After all, the last sentence he said was _You are all I have_. Kagura grunted noncommittally. _You are all I have._ Funny thing was, if you didn't know what he really meant by them, those five little words could be taken for something romantic, especially in that tone of voice. She looked at him.

He was cute, she realized. Young, yes, but age was nothing a few years wouldn't take care of. In fact, many demons who stole mortals to be their mates took them overly young so that they'd have a few more years of "ripeness" in them, and also because the young could be easily trained. He was also nice, she supposed. Nice, or naïve, but then, they were close to the same thing. She couldn't really say how smart he was, because the kind of smarts that people used to survive in today's world was different than the kind of smarts they used five hundred years ago. This was a completely alien environment; how was she supposed to judge the locals. Well, the others didn't treat Kyo like a small child or make him sit in a corner: that was a sign for the positive, at least. Also, as powerful as he was, he reminded her of a prey animal, and as a predator (especially a demonic predator), the feed instinct and the sex instinct were similar. Besides all that, wasn't it in her best interest to have him like her? And that was the thought that killed that train of thought.

Whatever else he was, he was someone who had power over her. She would never forget that. She would never be able to forget it. She was the wind, and the wind has no master. She could simply never be with anyone who had mastered her. It was contrary to her very nature.

"What are you thinking about, Kagura?" Kyo asked softly.

"Nothing," Kagura said quickly.

"Night, Kagura."

"Night."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

InuYasha could have listened in on Kyo and Kagura's conversation if he wanted to, but he respected people's privacy. Even without listening for it, he could hear them downstairs and across the house from them, speaking softly.

"So, what's the deal with this Kyo kid?" InuYasha asked.

"Well, it was before we, ah, met," Kagome said. "The Yamamoris had two sons, Toshio and Kyo. Kyo was Souta's best friend, and man, those two were inseparable. Toshio was a couple of years older than I am, but in my grade because he got suspended a couple of times. He was a bad seed, always on the wrong side of the law and such. I don't really know how it happened, but Toshio fell in with the yakuza. I mean, yeah, he was doing drugs, but unless he was selling…" Kagome shook her head, as if to clear it of that train of thought. "Anyway, the thing about Toshio was that he had a talent at screwing himself and getting everyone pissed at him. Becoming yakuza didn't change that. He tried to screw them over, they caught him, and then…" Kagome paused before she continued, "and then, the yakuza killed Toshio and his parents. The only reason that Kyo survived was because he hid, and they didn't find him. The Yamamori family, who used to live right down the street from us, were dead. Toshio hit on me once, and I told him that he was a creep slime ball and told him to die, except not in so many words. The next thing I know, he _was_ dead."

"Wow," InuYasha said. "That sounds like the beginning to every 'revenge' movie I had ever seen over the past handful of years." As short of a time as InuYasha had been in the modern era, he was already tired of that entire genre. Maybe it was because he had lived the real thing…

"I guess it does," Kagome said.

"Is that why you never told Kouga off when he hit on you?" InuYasha asked. "The Toshio thing?"

"You know, I never thought about it that way, but maybe. Thing is, though, that comparing him to Kouga is actually a huge disservice to Kouga," Kagome said.

InuYasha snorted. "Whatever. The stupid wolf was never anything but a thorn in my side."

"Trust me, if you had met Toshio, even you would agree," Kagome said. "Still, I probably shouldn't speak ill of the dead. Love you."

"You too," InuYahsa said. They kissed, and then they fell asleep in each other's arms. It took InuYasha longer to get to sleep than Kagome. It always did.


	4. interlude

Author's Note: Even after this ridiculous amount of time I have force you to wait, Chapter Four is not ready. I'm sorry, it's just that, compared to what's going to happen in Chapter Five and beyond, it's really kind of boring. I know that the only way to get to Chapter Five is to do Chapter Four first, but my heart just isn't in it, you know? Hopefully, I'll get over this lethargy soon. Anyway, as a peace offering to all those fans who have been holding out hope (if I _have_ any fans), I give you this. Don't give up faith, comrades; I haven't forgotten you, (unlike those poor bastards waiting for _Distant Shores_ to come off hiatus…). I don't want you thinking Chapter Four is going to be boring, though; it's just that the real action doesn't start until Five.

Ties That Bind

S-Michael

Interlude:

In Nightmares

_InuYasha stood on a boulder in the middle of the River of Time, wearing the Cloth of the Fire Rat and the Subjugation Beads, and clutching the Shikon Jewel in his right hand. Was this pathetic little piece of crystal really what he had been after all those years ago? He looked into the River of Time, knowing that he would have to jump in. The River split in twain; in the Right Fork, he saw himself use the Shikon Jewel to become human, saw himself happy with Kagome, saw himself buying one of those rings humans use to propose marriage. Then he saw himself come home to an empty house, all of Kagome's stuff was gone, and all there was was a letter, saying that she was leaving him. InuYasha saw his human self cry, rip the letter to shreds, and toss the box with the ring at the ground. He wept, for he had given up centuries of his life to be with her, and she had stabbed him in the back. For the second time in his life, he had given his heart to a human woman, only to have it smashed._

_He looked into the Left Fork. He remained a demon, and Kagome, as humans are wont to do, aged steadily while InuYasha remained forever youthful. He could feel Kagome's growing resentment for his youth, his beauty, as she lost hers, until one day, when Kagome was older than Kaede, she lay dying in his arms._

"_I love you, Kagome," InuYasha wept._

"_Goddamn you, InuYasha, why do you have to be so…perfect? How can you love me when I'm an old crone and you're so young and beautiful?" Kagome said._

"_I've always loved you, Kagome," InuYasha said, hurt by her words and stung by the tone of her voice as if these were physical weapons. "You know that." He moved in to kiss her._

_Kagome turned her head away. "Don't humor me," she said darkly, and that was her last breath. InuYasha wept, for now he was alone in the world. Alone in a world he didn't understand._

_How long did he wander the Earth after that? Years? Decades? Centuries? Old technology was replace by new technology as he wandered. Technology was the god these people worshiped, and well they should, for it had rewarded its followers well, and they reaped a bounty far greater than that granted by any other god, far greater than that granted by all other gods put together, and the Followers of Technology had no barbarians that needed to be held at bay so that they may enjoy the fruits of their faith. And it kept on giving; every single piece of technology was but another step on a ladder that grew ever higher, to the stars, to infinity, to the gods. And InuYasha had been skipped over the first steps of this ladder, and now he didn't understand this world._

_He didn't bother to learn what the new technology did or how; what was the point? He was alone. Alone. He dared not get too close to these people, for fear of his heart breaking again, which was inevitable; even if they didn't dump or try to kill him, they would eventually die, and that was the ultimate form of leaving someone. Eventually he lost the will to live, and Tetsusaiga had one last victim._

_The boulder InuYasha was standing on was sinking. Soon, he would be swept along by the current of the River, and he would have to choose, Right Fork or Left, and he didn't know what to do! He didn't know what to do! Panic froze InuYasha as the first touches of the River water touched his toes. It was more like mercury, really…_

_:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:_

_Kagura was chained to a rock, unable to break free, but she had to. She had to be free! _I must be free!_ But she could not break free. Someone showed up. It was Kyo._

"_Free me!" Kagura pleaded._

"_Right," Kyo said, pulling out a golden key. A black Shadow enveloped him, and became Naraku. _

_Naraku put the golden key in his pocket. "I think I'll be holding on to this, thank you." He laughed evilly. "You know, that human whelp's ties to you are much more efficient than taking your heart. Leaves no room for dissent. I think that that will be my method of control from now on. Come, Kagura."_

_Kagura's legs moved of their own volition, and she came, her chains forgotten in typical dreamlike fashion. She was truly his slave now. There was no opportunity for freedom, none at all. There wasn't even the option of dying rather than serving. She was truly captive._

_:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:_

_Kagome was going to class, when she was told that InuYasha had never made it to his Biology class this morning. She was asked if she could go see if he was alright. She walked down the hall, which somehow became the hallway of her house, and walked up to the room she shared with InuYasha. The door was closed. She went to open it, but reconsidered, and knocked. There was no answer. She opened the door, and saw InuYasha kneeling on the floor in a puddle of blood. He looked up at her; she could see that he was crying. He held up his hands--his wrists were slit._

"_I'm sorry, Kagome," InuYasha said. "I just can't live without Her. I tried, and…I can't."_

_Kagome fell to her knees and held him close. "But I love you, InuYasha."_

"_I'm sorry," InuYasha said. "I'm sorry to do this to you, but…I can't go on like this."_

"_I love you, InuYasha."_

"_I wish I could say the same," InuYasha said._

"_You _do_ love me, though," Kagome said._

"_Not enough," InuYasha said. "Not nearly enough…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I ca…I'm sorry."_

"_Bandage your wrists, please. I love you," Kagome pleaded._

"_I love you, too, Kikyo," InuYasha said, and he was suddenly cold in her arms. Dead._

_Kagome cried, clinging to his corpse for dear life. Even in the end, she was in Kikyo's shadow. She hadn't measured up. She hadn't been strong enough, mature enough, in control enough, just not _enough_ in any sense of the word to save him from himself. She wasn't Kikyo, and Kikyo was the measure against which she was being weighed._

_InuYasha's body was gone. The blood was still there, but it was dry, like the stain was old._

"_You killed him," a familiar voice accused from the doorway. Kagome turned her head, and sure enough, there was Kikyo, bow strung, arrow aimed at the middle of Kagome's back. Kagome stared into those dead eyes, those cold eyes. Kikyo was unnaturally still, like a mannequin. Frozen in place._

_As Kagome stared into Kikyo's eyes, memories flooded her mind, memories not of this lifetime, but of another. Memories of Kikyo's life. Her happy, perfect, short time with InuYasha. Gradually, she realized she wasn't looking into Kikyo's eyes; she was looking into her own; she was in Kikyo's body. It made sense: after all were they not the same soul--the same person? She felt the bow and arrow in her hands, and realized, then, what this was. She was being asked to judge her own actions. Kagome let the arrow loose. She had failed, and shouldn't failure mean death? That's the way the demons did it…_

_Suddenly, the bodies switched. It wasn't her body on the ground, it was Kikyo's. She was in her own body again, but she was holding the bow that shot the arrow that pierced Kikyo's heart from behind. Somehow, in spite of being made of clay, Kikyo was bleeding, and Kagome knew that she was dead. They were no longer in her house; they were in a hut._

"_Kikyo!" InuYasha ran up to Kikyo's body, crying. This wasn't the InuYasha she knew. This InuYasha was younger, innocent. He looked up at Kagome, not a trace of recognition in his eyes. "Why? Why would you do this?" he pleaded._

"_I…I didn't…this wasn't what I meant to happen…"_

_But wasn't it?_

_:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:_

_Kyo's body moved without his volition. The Voices were clamoring, but their words didn't make sense; it was all a bunch of white noise to him. He saw his hand, and realized that this was not his body. It was too…he didn't know what. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Red eyes. Long hair. For some reason, he thought he kind of looked like Kagura, but this body was definitely male…he assumed._

"_Kagura is dead, Naraku" a girl with white hair, eyes and skin said. She looked like an albino._

"_I see," the body Kyo was in said. The voice was somehow familiar. Was this what it was like for his voices? Always watching, listening? Surely not; their knowledge had to come from somewhere. Kyo did not like the things the voices in Naraku's head were saying, did not like the fact that there was something familiar about them, and so he turned inward, searching the depths of Naraku's mind, swimming through the thoughts of demons._

_And then, he bumped into something he didn't like. It was a hard lump in the otherwise easily-navigated pathways of this demon's mind. Kyo pushed his will at it, but it wouldn't budge, no matter what he did. He did the metaphysical equivalent of sitting and staring at it, thinking. Then he noticed that there was a hair-thin fracture. Kyo pressed against it, gently, using his essence like a wedge, slipping a tendril in. He felt…something. Something was awakening under his touch. He began to coax it to life…and then suddenly, he wasn't there. He was on the ground, on his back, spread eagle, and Naraku was standing between his legs, smiling ironically down at him._

"_We'll be having none of that, thank you very much."_

"_None of what?" Kyo asked._

_Naraku fazed out, and Kyo was dreaming a new, unfortunately more familiar dream: he was dreaming about the night his family were slaughtered. _

_Fortunately, he wouldn't remember much of his nightmares after that._

A.N.: Sweet dreams, loyal fans. (I'm writing this at 4am, so that's perfectly relevant to me--time I could have been using to write C4, but, eh, lethargy.) I promise I won't forget you. Who knows? Maybe you will only have to wait a somewhat indecent amount of time for it after this. Don't worry; if after C4 I don't update more reasonably, it will be because I'm either dead, found a job, or am stranded in the middle of northwest Wisconsin without a computer (don't laugh--that last one is a real possibility!). Doesn't take a psychoanalyst to interpret these dreams, does it? (Well, except for Kyo's.) I'm actually glad I did this; it allows us to take a closer look at the characters, at their fears and anxieties, and whatnot. It occurs to me that if this story ends up being six chapters long like I plan (plus an epilogue), this interlude will have been right in the dead center of it. Convenient, ne?

…anyway, I'll get on that, as soon as, well, you know…


	5. Victory is not Always Victory

Author's Note: I wasn't getting anything done with this story (in, like, months), so I decided to work at it from a different angle. I flit back and forth between the present and the past in this chapter because, well, it clears up this story's back story. (It also helps fill in what would otherwise be either a really short and/or a really boring chapter, incidentally.) Also, the rating has been raised to M (it used to be T, for those of you who don't remember this story from either six moths or nearly a year ago, which I don't blame you for) because of a scene of torture. It's not all that graphic, but still…it's torture. Best to be safe.

Ties That Bind

S-Michael

Chapter 4

Victory is not Always Victory

_500 years ago…_

"You try to hide it, but you're weakening, Sesshoumaru," Naraku said. "I can see it as clear as day in every slight tremor, every time your eyes lose focus for a second. Why not ask for help from your friends?"

"They're not my friends. Besides, I shall be the one to kill you." Sesshoumaru never lost composure, in spite of the massive blood loss.

"Big words, from a half-dead demon. Could it be, that the cold-hearted Sesshoumaru is trying to protect his little brother and friends? It's not going to work, as Hakudoushi is dealing with them quite expertly." Sesshoumaru could see the battle from there, and didn't need the narration. At the present rate, they would lose.

"You've got the wrong impression of me."

"Oh really? You know where my heart is," Naraku gestured at where Rin was, being held captive by a spiked orb which held Akago inside of it. "The weak point is right under her heart. Why not spear the human through and be done with this charade."

"I'm not going to play your demented games, Naraku." Sesshoumaru attacked.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Rin, I'm getting you out of here," Shippo whispered. He had snuck up when Naraku and Hakudoushi were distracted. "Just hold still." He transformed himself into thick foam, covering the sphere, keeping it immobile while he removed Rin--

--and Kohaku took her place! _What? No! This wasn't the plan? Where had he come from, and what was he doing?_ But he couldn't hold the form for long, as it was a new form he had just learned. He transformed back, and there was Kohaku, where Shippo was going to put a rock. His chain scythe pierced the shield and Akago. The spikes pierced his body in several places, forcing out the jewel shard in his back.

Akago was dead, and therefore, so were Naraku and Hakudoushi.

"Kohaku!" Sango cried, injured herself from the battle but she ran to him.

"Sister," Kohaku said, dying. "I remember. I remember everything. I…I'm sorry. All those people I killed…Father…our friends…I…"

"You were being controlled by Naraku," Sango said. "It's not your fault."

"Did I make up for it? Is he dead? Am I absolved?"

"Yes." Sango was crying. "You did. He is. You are. Naraku will never kill anyone ever again, and it is all thanks to you."

"Good." Which was his last word.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

_The present…_

Kyo searched the internet for all he could find on the people who he was looking for. Of course, it wasn't as easy as typing "Who killed my brother?" and then clicking "search." Still, it would give him a place to start. He'd find out what had happened to Toshio's friends. He'd find out who the big yakuza players of the time were, and what had happened to them. Who the hit men of the time were. Anyone who could possibly have been involved in any way, he'd hunt down and question. And if he ended up killing most of them…well, so be it.

He compiled a list of names and addresses, and decided that they would do. He had a plan. A workable plan. It was time to get Kagura. As he walked to Souta's house from the local library, he saw someone pruning a hedge. The man got up and went into the house, for whatever reason. Probably just to use the bathroom, or something equally mundane. It wasn't important. What was was that he left his tools behind. Kyo picked up a pair of pruning shears and continued to walk. What was a little petty theft, compared to what he planned? And if he was right, he'd have need of tools like that in the very near future.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

_500 years ago…_

"You're beautiful," Kagome assured her friend.

"I suppose it's traditional, but…" she gestured at her wedding dress, "I just can't get over how impractical it is. How are you supposed to fight in this?"

"You're not. It's your wedding day. It's supposed to be a happy day. No fighting."

"I know, but…" Sango sighed. "You know what I mean."

"We've been fighting for so long, lost so many people who meant so much to us…"

"Kohaku," Sango whispered, almost involuntarily.

"Kikyo," Kagome spoke with the same tone. Then she shook herself. "But it's finally over. We finally won. It is time to live, and be merry." Yes, they had won. Kagura was sealed away, and Naraku was dead.

"Have you and InuYasha decided which time period you want to live in?" Sango asked. Odd, how the bizarre concept of time travel was almost ordinary with them.

"We're going to go to my time. I have things that I want to do with my life, people who I care about, and InuYasha doesn't. Well, except for you guys, that is. You matter to us, of course."

"Relax, I understand. Besides, it's not like you're not going to be back to visit," Sango said.

"Yeah, that's true," Kagome said. "Promise me I'll be there to see the birth of your first child. I think it's time."

Kagome took her place as bridesmaid. "You're going to stop being lecherous when you're married, right?" she whispered to Miroku out of the corner of her mouth.

"Of course," Miroku said, offended. "What kind of pervert do you think I am? Marriage is a sacred institution, one which I would never violate." A woman passing by turned and slapped him.

"Did you just grope her?"

"Technically, I'm not married yet."

Kaede presided over the ceremony, Miroku and Sango said their vows, and they kissed. They faced the crowd, smiling. And then Miroku wasn't smiling any more. "Quickly, get me some prayer beads."

"What is it?" Kaede asked.

"Now!" Miroku shouted, staring at the hole that was beginning to form in his hand.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

_The present…_

"It's time," Kyo said, returning from the library. "Kagura, lets go." Kagura stood, dusted off her clothes, and followed the sorcerer out of the house.

"Should we be letting them do this?" InuYasha asked, watching them fly off on a feather.

"Probably not," said Kagome.

"So why are we letting them do this?" InuYasha asked.

"I don't know," Kagome said. But this was a lie. "We wouldn't have been able to stop him, anyway."

"I'm not afraid of that little punk," InuYasha said.

"No, it's not like that. When someone has one singular goal, one purpose, to squeeze the life out of, and truly not care about anything else, the consequences or anything, even if they live or die, there is no stopping someone like that. Not unless you're willing to kill them."

"I guess a bunch of murderous yakuza aren't worth it."

"I guess not," agreed Kagome.

"Besides, sorcerers have an annoying tendency to come back from the dead."

"What, seriously?"

"Seriously," InuYasha said. "Well, so says the demon lore. Something about being born with the power of the divine, or something. Whatever _that_ means. But demons tell all kinds of stories. When they're not killing one another, at any rate. They're worse than humans like that."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

_500 years ago…_

The Wind Tunnel was back. That could only mean one thing: "Naraku's back. How can Naraku be back? We killed him. We killed him!"

"Calm down, Miroku," Sango said to her hyperventilating husband.

"We're going to have to go to his grave," InuYasha said. "Even if he's not there, that'll be the beginning of the trail."

"Right, let's go!" Shippo said.

"You're not going anywhere," InuYasha said.

"I helped defeat Naraku last time!"

"You hid!"

"That's not fair!" not to mention, manifestly untrue. "Besides, I'm just a kid!"

"Which is exactly why you're not coming," InuYasha said.

"No fair!" Shippo sulked, but he knew he had lost. He had walked right into that one, after all.

"Alright, lets go."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

_The present…_

"Try not to kill the guards. You know, if you don't have to," Kyo said.

Kagura noticed a distinct lack of compulsion attached to his words. Was he getting better at controlling his ability to control her? Or was he just insincere in that request? Either way, she nodded, and blasted a hole in a window on the third floor of the mansion, waking the man who had been asleep on the large four-poster bed.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? _How_ did you get in here? Guards!"

"Put something heavy against that door," Kyo ordered.

A gust of wind slammed the large bed against said entrance.

"How did you do that?" the man demanded.

"I'll be the one asking the questions, mister yakuza boss."

It was easy to imagine how surreal it must have been for this man, this criminal, being interrogated in his own home by a woman and a cocky kid who seemed to think he had the upper hand. There came a pounding at the door. "My men will be in here in minutes!"

"I don't intend to take that long," Kyo said. "I'm here about Toshio Yamamori."

"Toshio Yamamori?"

"It was in the news a couple of years back. Don't tell me you don't remember. I want to know who did it, why, and where I can find them," Kyo demanded.

"You've got guts, kid, but you're not getting out of here alive, and I'm not telling you anything. Sorry, boyo, but this is not your day."

"Oh, really. Kagura, his hand." She grabbed the man's hand and held it out towards Kyo. Who pulled out a pair of gardening shears and placed the tip of the pinky in them. "Feeling talkative yet?"

"You wouldn't da--arrrgh!" The man was now missing a piece of his pinky.

Kyo moved the shears halfway down what was left of the finger, to the next joint. "Tell me everything you know."

"Death is too good for you, kid. We're going to skin you alive and then toss you into a pile of salt!"

"Sounds painful. I guess it doesn't matter if I do _this_, then." The man screamed again. "That sounds painful, too." He moved his tool to the base of the finger. "Tell me what I want to know before I move on to another finger. Or blood loss makes you pass out, and I won't have any reason to keep you alive." The man stared at this boy, horrified. "Too late." The last of the pinky went, and the tool moved to the ring finger. "I think you understand where this is going, by now. First the one hand, and then the other. After that, I'll just kill you. Assuming you even survive that long."

"Alright, I'll tell you." He listed off six names. Two of which were already on Kyo's list, the rest weren't.

"Is that all of them?" Kyo asked.

"Yes, I swear!"

"Liar!" Kyo took the tip of the ring finger, and moved on to the next joint. "There were eight of them. I remember."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Because I saw them."

"Impossible. They didn't leave anyone in that house alive."

"Except for me. I hid."

The man shook his head. "They searched that place from top to bottom, and there was no one left alive. The target, the mom, the dad, no one."

"Well, they missed me. Now stop lying to me, or…" he tightened his grip on the shears meaningfully.

"The names I gave you are true! I just left out…" He stopped talking.

"Yes?"

"No."

_Snip._ Scream. "Still 'no'?" No replay. "It's your sons, isn't it?" The look in his eye was all the answer Kyo needed. The names were on his list, but as an afterthought. Now he was glad he had thought to check them out when he had come across this man's name.

"There's a sniper climbing the tree outside," Kagura said.

"Can you hit him from here?"

"Yes."

"Do so."

"Dance of Blades!" There was the sound of a tree falling over.

"Who are you people?"

Kyo did something that could almost be called a grin, but wasn't a human grin; more of a cat's grin. "We are demons from hell, and we want your soul. Now tell me what I want to know."

"I just did!"

"Did you have anything to do with it?"

"No!"

_Snip._ Scream. "Really?"

"Really!" the man pleaded.

Kyo took the last bit of ring finger. "Are you sure?"

"I swear! Kill me if you want, but I had nothing to do with it I wasn't the boss at the time!"

"Who was?"

"He's dead. Whacked by a rival syndicate."

Kyo menaced the now-inappropriately named middle finger. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! Now stop carving me up!"

"Do you swear _on your life_ that this is true?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, I believe you, but if I find out that a single word you said is false, I'll be back to collect on that. Time to go, Kagura."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

_500 years ago…_

"This guy has more lives than a cat," Kagome cursed.

"Huh?" InuYasha asked.

"It's an expression from my time," Kagome said.

"It doesn't make sense," InuYasha said. "Cats are just as mortal as the rest of us."

Kaede cleared her throat. "Naraku seems to have found a way to regenerate himself, no matter how little of him remains. The only way to kill him would be to destroy every last shred of his flesh, and it is quite probable that he has clumps of it hidden in other places as backups."

"But, his heart…"

"Doesn't seem to matter."

"So what do we do, old hag?" InuYasha demanded.

"The only practical option is to bind his soul to something."

"Is there even anything in this world powerful enough to bind him, especially when he has what qualifies as a living body elsewhere?"

"There is this one thing, that I know of, but it creates problems of its own," Kaede said.

"What?" demanded InuYasha.

The old woman looked out the door of the hut, at the Bone Eater's Well. "Of course, if we do that, you and Kagome had better be on whichever side of the well you want to be on, because travel through it would probably destroy the binding."

"But, I travel through it in the future."

"It would be safe to say that five hundred years from now, Naraku's flesh will have died. And when you came out, it was before we did this, so it didn't break the spell on this end, but if you come back from the future _after_ we do this…" Kaede paused, partially for effect, and partially because talking about time travel hurt both her brain and her tongue.

"I see," Kagome said. "So, if InuYasha and I go down that well, we're never coming back."

"Essentially."

"Are you sure that this is the only way?" InuYasha asked.

"The only practical way _I_ can think of," Kaede said.

"Then it is what we will do," InuYasha said.

"And which end of the tunnel will you be on, InuYasha?"

"I have to talk about it with Kagome."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Good bye," Kagome said, tears in her eyes. She hugged Sango, and then Miroku. Cracking a smile, she said, "I'm surprised you didn't try to grope me, Miroku."

Miroku smiled back. "I _am_ a married man, you know. I have to be loyal to my woman."

"That's a first," InuYasha said.

"It's true," Miroku said; before Sango could say whatever she was about to say in response to this, he added, "Sango is the only woman I can grope, now."

"Thanks. I think," she said.

"And so what are you going to be doing on that side, InuYasha?" Miroku asked.

InuYasha shrugged. "Kagome's going to college after high school. I think I should follow her. Learn a few things. After all, that is an age in which knowledge is power."

"And you called me not groping random attractive women 'a first,'" Miroku said dryly.

InuYasha grinned, and slapped his friend on the shoulder, smiling. "Shut up."

"Time for us to go," Kagome said, kissing Shippo on the forehead.

"Be sure to have lots of children! We'll look you up in the histories, on the other side, to make sure you did," InuYasha said.

"We will," Miroku promised.

"Easy for _you_ to say," Sango mumbled.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

_The present…_

"That's all of them," Kyo said. It was all over. Hard to believe.

"And I believe you promised to free me, now," Kagura said.

"Right," Kyo nodded. "Let's get away from here, first." They flew away on Kagura's feather, and Kyo felt the breeze on him. The wind calling to him, whispering of places he'd never see, and he wished that it would carry him away with it, that it would sweep him off his feet. Not so adamantly as before, though.

He had done it. At long last, he had done it. He was hollow inside, but then, that was nothing new. Still, there was a twinge of something in his heart. Was it happiness? Was he happy, now that his purpose was done? Was he relieved? Hard to say, even from inside his skull. But now that he could allow himself to think about the future for the first time in his life, he realized that he would have to.

In a way, Kagura would be doing him a favor if she opted to kill him. Now that he had accomplished his revenge, it was time to live, and living was not something he knew how to do. Living required effort, it required tending to the wounds that were inflicted on him, it required deciding what he wanted from it, and then acting to achieve it. It may even require him to interact with other human beings, and other human beings were not a group he wanted to be a part of. The monsters of this world weren't demons, they were human. But it wasn't that, it was the years of being thought of as crazy, the years of patronizing nurses talking to him in a tone that one would use on a two-year-old, years of an aunt and uncle who came to see him out of a sense of duty but didn't really care, it was all this and more that caused him to have lost faith in humanity. When his only goal had been revenge, he didn't have to worry about anything else. There was a single path, and though it was on the edge of a sword, he could still race down it, for he was blind to all but. Death? Injury? Who cared about trivialities like that? Only one thing mattered. And that one thing had been accomplished. But now he was expected to live, and, all things considered, it was a scary concept. What a great load off of his mind it would be, what a relieving of his responsibilities as a human being, nay, as a biological organism, if she were to simply kill him. If he were to die right now, at the peak of his glory.

"Where should I land?" Kagura asked.

"You pick," Kyo said.

Kagura found a clearing in the forest. "I'm surprised you didn't demand we land in a city. Make it that much harder for me to kill you."

"I promised you that you could do whatever you wanted when you were free."

"Including kill you?"

"If you must. I have accomplished what I have set out to do."

"That is a very freakish attitude to have."

Kyo shrugged. "I've only had the luxury of thinking about my own life for about five seconds. I guess I'm not used to it yet."

"Whatever. Now, free me."

"Right." Kyo thought about the sensation of being attached to another living being the way he was to Kagura. He knew it was something he'd never feel again. He stood opposite of Kagura, allowed himself to bask in the bond for another second or two, breathed, and then opened his eyes. He cleared his throat: "Kagura, I fr--" He stopped. That was odd. "Kagura, I fr--" Again he stopped. "Kagura, I fr--" Alright, what was happening, here?

"Hurry up and say it!" Kagura was getting impatient.

"Sorry, my mouth just seems to refuse--"

_And what of me?_

"Huh?"

_You got what you want, Kagura is about to get what _she_ wants, but what of what _I_ want out of this little situation?_

"What are you talking about? Since when do you have ulterior motives, Voices?"

_We have to go back to go back to Souta's place, and down the Bone Eater's Well into the past._

"Why would we have to do that?"

_It's Naraku. He's free._

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Naraku basked under the glow of the full moon. This body of his, it wasn't his old body, but it had it's advantages, it's powers. And so pliable! Normally, demonic possession was so much work, as the human body and the human soul wanted to do certain things, but this one fit him like a glove, it obeyed him intuitively. He was very lucky, in this find, and it would come in handy in his plans. Which he didn't have yet, but he would think of some. He wasn't worried, though. _After all,_ he thought, taking a deep breath of car-exhaust filled air, _now that I know the secret of the Bone Eater's Well, I have all the time in the world._


	6. Down the Rabbit Hole

Ties That Bind

S-Michael

Chapter 5

Down the Rabbit Hole

"The voices aren't letting me free you yet. They say that there's something we've got to do for them, first," Kyo said.

"What are you talking about? You promised!" Kagura was disgusted with herself for feeling hurt. She should have expected the double-cross. Hell, she _did_ expect it, but he had somehow wooed her into trusting him. He was very convincingly suicidal and without apparent malice (towards her, which was what counted), but in the end, it always came down to power, and those with it did not relinquish it willingly. How could she have forgotten? Human or demon, it was a basic law of a person's nature.

"Well, either we can do what the voices say, or you can kill me," Kyo said.

"What?"

"I _did_ promise you your freedom, after all."

"And you would really give up your life for that?"

"I'm not doing anything with it."

"Wait, we're connected; won't killing you kill me, too?"

"Maybe. I'll bet my life it won't be a fun experience, though." He smacked the side of his head with the base of his palm. "Shut up, voices. If you wanted something, you should have asked for it earlier. Yeah, I know, but still. The deal has been struck. Oh, what do you care, you don't live inside of me!"

She considered killing him, and realized that she didn't really want to. What the hell? Kagura prided herself on being an amoral sociopath--one had to be one in order to survive being Naraku's subordinate--but she was reluctant to take his head with a sweep of her fan. What was with that? Maybe she was just concerned that her own lifeforce might be attached to his. Yeah. That was it. Had to be. Yup. "I don't want to risk it, lets go do what the voices say."

"Oh, stop complaining; you're getting what you want," he said to himself. Then to Kagura: "Back to Souta's place. They're going to want to hear about this."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"What do you mean, Naraku's back? And how do you know?" InuYasha demanded.

"Sources," Kyo said noncommittally.

"_What_ 'sources?'" InuYasha demanded.

"I'd rather not say."

"I'm tired of this charade," Kagura blurted out. "The kid here hears voices."

"_Kagura!_" Kyo's voice for the first time took on a human tone instead of its usual detached sorrow or detached smoldering rage: horrified embarrassment. One could have almost mistaken him for a normal teenager.

"Voices of the dead, voices from beyond, voices of the sages, voices in his head, what?" InuYasha asked.

Kyo, realizing that no one was looking at him like he was crazy, responded: "They never really said. They were the ones who told me how to resurrect Kagura, though, if that's any help."

"Obviously something with some know-how, then," InuYasha said.

"Yes, but does that necessarily mean that they know what they're talking about _now?_ And even if they do know what they're talking about, that doesn't make them trustworthy," Kagome said.

"Besides, what if it's you all going back that frees Naraku?" Souta chimed in.

"The voices have never steered me wrong before, and Kagura and I are going down the well whether or not you're coming with us," Kyo said.

"Can you travel through that thing?" Kagome asked. "I mean, we tried it on the other side, and only InuYasha and myself had that ability out of us, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo."

"The voices assure me that we can pass through the well," Kyo said.

"Good for the voices," InuYasha murmured under his breath.

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

"No one's yet addressed the thing I mentioned," Souta said. "You know, about the whole going-back-may-be-what-frees-Naraku thing."

"Something I noticed, going back and forwards through time, was that no matter what I did in the Feudal Era, it didn't affect anything back home," Kagome said. "If we go back, it may be the going back that frees Naraku, but if we don't go back, then it will _definitely_ be something else."

"Assuming that these voices can be trusted," Souta pointed out.

"Right. That thing," Kagome said.

"I trust my voices," Kyo said.

"No offense, but, as a book I once read said, 'never trust anything if you can't see where it keeps its brain,'" Souta said.

"Sounds wise. Where'd you hear that?" Kyo asked, a weird edge in his voice (not hostile; just…weird).

"Just this book."

"What book?"

"A book of wise sayings and things."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

It turned out that that thing in his voice came from the fact that he had no experience in deceiving people, because his next words revealed his trap: "Liar. Even _I_ know that that line came from a _Harry Potter_ book."

"I was still little when that book came out," Souta said defensively. "What's your excuse?"

"Souta? We're the same age, remember? Besides, I can have hardly have spent every moment of the last years of my life plotting revenge, you know."

"So, are we doing this?" Inuyasha asked.

"Kagura and I are," Kyo said.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance," Kagura mumbled.

"Just make it fast and painless," Kyo said.

"If it's going back that frees Naraku, he'd be just as free if they do it without us as if they do it with."

"Right, so then we're going."

"If those two can actually travel through the well. Otherwise, if the voices were wrong about that, they're probably wrong about Naraku."

"Really?"

"Well, maybe. I wouldn't risk it."

"Alright. I'd better change into something more suitable. And what did I do with Tetsuseiga?" InuYasha said.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Wearing the cloth of the fire rat and with Tetsuseiga strapped to his side, InuYasha looked like he had when they used to fight Naraku. He was even wearing a necklace, even though it wasn't subjugation beads, but the Shikon Jewel. He looked exactly as he had. That's when it hit Kagome like a ton of bricks: he looked _exactly_ as he had. She had known that when she was fifteen that he was biologically fifteen while being chronologically two hundred, but hadn't really thought about it since then. He was _still_ fifteen. At the rate he was aging, he wouldn't be legal for another forty years! And every year that she distanced from him age-wise meant more people who gave them funny looks when they were out in public together.

Kagome put the thought out of her mind. She'd see Sango and Miroku again! Oh, how she had missed them. She wondered if they'd had any children yet. Back when they were fighting Naraku…the name interrupted her train of thought, and Kagome was remembering why they didn't go back anymore.

Naraku was back? How could he be back? After they had suffered so much, sacrificed so much…it wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. Kagome knew that it was childish to say things like that, but, still, it wasn't. And it graded on her very soul. Looking at InuYasha, she could see that he could feel the same grading.

"Right, then," InuYasha said. "Sorcerers first."

Watching Kyo jump down that well made Kagome wince. True, he believed that it would work for him, but if it didn't, he had just broken both of his legs. Kagura followed.

"Well, I don't hear screaming," InuYasha said. He looked down the well. "Damn! They're gone. I can't really believe it."

"Looks like we're going, too," Kagome said. And so they jumped. On the bright side, they'd be able to see Sango and Miroku again.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"We're going to go find Sango and Miroku," Kagome said.

"That sounds like a good idea," Kyo said.

"You two probably shouldn't follow us."

"No offense, Kagura, but, well, you _were_ an enemy," InuYasha added.

"None taken. See you in a while."

InuYasha and Kagome left. "So, is there anyone you want to see?" Kyo asked.

"Well, there's one person…but I'd rather not he see me like this."

"Like what?"

"Bound to your will."

"Oh," Kyo said. "Hey, weren't you bound to Naraku's will your entire life?"

"True enough, but at least he was a demon, while you…"

"Are human," Kyo finished for her.

"Exactly."

"You know, there _are_ extenuating circumstances. After all, if I can raise you from the dead…"

"Still, you're human."

"A sorcerer."

"In a way, even worse. You people are 'the enemy.'"

"You know, we might not survive this."

"Yes, this is true…"

"I promise not to order you to do stuff while we're with him."

"Thanks, but…"

"Is he strong?"

"What?"

"Would he make a good ally in the battle against Naraku?"

"Yes. However, I don't want to get him involved."

"Why not?"

"I already told you."

"You're lying. What's the real reason?" When he asked, he put some power into it, so she had to answer.

"He's a demon, and you're a sorcerer. Do the math," Kagura said.

"You're worried that I'm going to bind him to my will, aren't you?" Kyo asked.

"Normally I wouldn't be, being as he's probably the most powerful demon I ever met, but you…you're something else, entirely," Kagura said.

"I won't, I promise. Shall we go see him?"

"Do we have a choice?"

"It's entirely up to you. He's not _my_ friend. I'm not the one who misses him. Are we going or not?"

"I _would_ like to see him…"

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Rin was lying in the grass when she noticed the wind shifting. It reminded her of something, but she didn't know what…

And then she saw Kagura riding towards them, and she remembered that it reminded her of when Kagura was alive and the wind would do that sort of thing when she was arriving. Her eyes widened. Jaken stood and began stammering. Sesshoumaru alone gave no reaction, as if Kagura and Kohaku returning from the dead wasn't anything to get worked up about. Even to Rin, who at this point was fluent in what she called (but never aloud) Sesshoumaru-ese, couldn't see any sign of shock or surprise in him. He must have smelled them coming while she was cloud gazing.

"You three are mighty picturesque just sitting here in the middle of nowhere. Surprised to see me?"

"Kagura," Sesshoumaru said. "Who's this?"

Rin had thought it was Kohaku. Yeah, he was dead, but so was Kagura…

"My name's Kyo," he said. "I brought her back from the dead."

Jaken demanded, "How could he--"

"So he's a sorcerer, then," Sesshoumaru said. His voice was deadpan to those not fluent in Sesshoumaru-ese, but Rin could tell that, while he was certain of the sentence he spoke, _something_ was confusing him.

"Yes, I am," Kyo said.

"How did you bring Kagura back?" He asked it as if it were an every day question, but hidden in this question was another one: _Why_ did you bring _Kagura_ back, specifically?

Kyo held up a scarred wrist. "Blood seal," Sesshoumaru said, veiling surprise. Rin didn't blame him, as _she_ was surprised. Being familiar with demonic lore, she knew a thing or two about sorcerers, and if she had been one intent on bringing Kagura back from the dead, she'd have just transplanted the soul into another demon and then shape it accordingly. A blood seal was used only by the desperate, as one is likely to bleed to death if the ceremony takes too long. True, it does create automatic ties that bind the demon to the sorcerer, but those ties work both ways; while the demon has to obey the sorcerer, the sorcerer protects the demon instinctually and almost as if possessed, not to mention that the death of the demon results in the death of the sorcerer most of the time. That was too intimate a bond for most sorcerers.

"I'll take your word for it," Kyo shrugged. This statement again shocked them: If he could _do_ the fucking thing, shouldn't he know what it was called? Something was wrong with this boy.

"Why are you here?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Kyo shrugged. "We just happened to be in the neighborhood and thought we'd stop in to say hello."

"You insolent little brat!" Jaken said. "Be serious when you talk to Lord Sesshoumaru. Do you not realize that he could kill you on the spot."

"Maybe," the boy said evenly, without a trace of fear. "Relax, I'm not going to try to possess anyone."

"Then why have your tentacles been caressing mine and Jaken's auras since you got here?" Sesshoumaru said.

"Have I been? I guess it just sort of does that naturally--ouch! How did you do that?"

"Try putting up shields, you cocky bastard," Sesshoumaru said blandly.

Um…what? This sorcerer was here without shielding himself? What kind of weirdo idiot were they dealing with?

The boy closed his eyes. "How's this?"

"An insult to my power. But at least you'll be easy to kill if you insult me further," Sesshoumaru said.

"Right. I'm going to go over here, now," Kyo said. Unfortunately, "over here" was next to Rin, who wasn't real big on other humans. She preferred the company of demons over the company of humans. "Hi, you're human. What's the deal with that?"

"It happens when that's what both of your parents are," Rin said.

"Ha-ha. You know what I mean. Why's a human girl running around with a couple of demons?" Kyo asked.

"He raised me."

"I see. Wasn't quite what I was expecting," Kyo said.

"Why is it that ever since my body began to develop, everyone thinks that I'm a maiden that Lord Sesshoumaru kidnapped and forced to marry him?" Rin demanded.

"Actually, I thought this was one of those 'bad crowds' us teens are said to always be falling into," Kyo said. "You don't look very 'forced.'"

"Oh," Rin said. "Well, you get points for not thinking that, then. Honestly, I'm sick of all of these rescue attempts."

Kyo actually laughed at that for a split second.

"Oh, I'm serious. I can't even go into a village with these two. Ah, fuck those idiots, anyway."

"Human companionship is overrated," Kyo said.

Rin looked at him in order to see if he was making fun of her, and decided that he wasn't. "I hate them," she said.

"Kill 'em all," Kyo agreed. "They're wastes of the gray matter God gave them."

"Grey matter? And which god?"

"It doesn't matter," Kyo said, and sighed.

"Lord Sesshoumaru says that I need to start dating," which was Sesshoumaru-ese for _I don't like the way you've been looking at me, Rin._ She hadn't even realized that she had been having inappropriate thoughts about him, but apparently, he had read something like that in her unspoken communication. Then she realized belatedly that saying that would make him think--

"Are you hitting on me?" Kyo asked.

"No! Gods, no! Honestly, I make one innocent statement--"

"Sorry for jumping to conclusions," he said.

"It's alright."

"So, as you were saying…"

"Lord Sesshoumaru says I need to start dating," Rin repeated herself.

"Interesting," Kyo said. "How would that work, anyway? Or am I assuming too much when I assume he meant human boys."

"No, you're right," Rin assured him. "Actually, he does have an idea about that."

"Oh?"

"He says I should find a boy who I think is pleasing on the eyes, and then wait for night, when we'll kidnap him and force him to do whatever I want."

Kyo laughed. "What kind of boy could resist _that?_"

Rin laughed. "So, what about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. The person in this conversation who is not me," Rin said. "You're also hanging out with a demon."

"I raised Kagura from the dead so that she could kill some people for me, and then the voices who told me how to do that told me that I needed to come back in time because Naraku was back and doing stuff. Which is bad, I guess."

"You don't sound very motivated," Rin said.

Kyo shrugged. "Well, the voices did help me accomplish my purpose in life, being revenge against those who killed my family, but I have no real idea who this Naraku is. For me, this is just one more distraction before I face facts and have to start living life like I actually want to be alive."

"I can't help but notice that you said 'back in time.'"

"Ah, well, you see--"

"So you're from Kagome's time, then."

"Oh, so you know about that? One less thing I have to explain, then."

"You also said you were an orphan."

"I…did?"

"You said that your family was dead," Rin clarified.

"Oh, right. Yeah, it's true, I'm an orphan."

"Me, too."

"I kind of figured. People don't get raised by demons because their parents are alive and healthy, after all."

"You do have a point there," she conceded.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"I can't believe that one of our descendants becomes a necromancer," Miroku said.

"Sorcerer," InuYasha corrected.

"The two words mean the same exact thing," Miroku said. "I feel so…dirty."

"He's an okay kid," Kagome defended Kyo, who wasn't there at the time.

"This may not be very, how does it go in your time, PC? Yeah, PC. This may not seem very PC, but sorcerers are rarely ever decent sorts," Miroku said.

"There are a few notable exceptions," Sango amended.

"Merlin," Kagome said.

"Huh?" Miroku and Sango asked in sync.

"Never mind," Kagome said.

"Are you sure that Naraku is free?" Miroku asked. "I mean…" he held up his Wind Tunnel-free hand. "Plus, we've been keeping watch on the Bone Eater's Well, and he seemed secure last time we checked."

"That's what the Kyo's voices say," InuYasha said.

"Right, the voices of the dead heard by a sorcerer. There's a source I trust," Miroku said sardonically.

"Being a father has made you jaded, Miroku," Kagome snapped at him.

"No, it hasn't," Miroku said defensively. "I've always wanted children, and we have two little bundles of joy, with a third on the way."

"Have I mentioned that you work fast, Miroku?" InuYasha asked.

"Five times and counting," Miroku answered resignedly.

Sango winced. "The baby just kicked, little bastard. He knows we're talking about him."

"Not very maternal, are you?" Kagome said.

"He doesn't know what 'bastard' means," Sango replied. Then she sighed. "I'll be putting the baby in danger if I come with you, won't I?"

"We all might die," InuYasha said softly.

"Yeah, I know, and that never used to bother me, but…" Sango's hand unconsciously went to her stomach, which was just beginning to swell.

"You two have a family now, people who depend on you, a whole damn village of would-be demon slayers," InuYasha said. "If you don't feel that you can join us, we understand." There was silence for a moment.

"We're going," Sango said finally. She patted her stomach, "I'm sorry, little guy; you'll understand when you're older."

InuYasha grabbed her shoulder. "You're stronger than I would be."

Sango ended the moment by smirking. "The new softer, gentler InuYasha. I like it."

InuYasha performed a gesture that he learned in the modern era. "Up yours," he added, knowing that she wouldn't understand the gesture.

"In any case, before we start getting all worked up, we ought to check out the Bone Eater's Well," Miroku said. "Sorry, but I just can't take the word of voices a sorcerer hears in his head at face value."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Sorry, but I just can't take a sorcerer's word for it," Sesshoumaru said.

"So does that mean you're not coming?" Kagura asked.

"Yes," Sesshoumaru said.

"And if it is true?"

"If I find out that Naraku is alive again somehow, I will simply hunt him down and kill him," Sesshoumaru said matter-of-factly. "What I will not do, at the moment, is follow a sorcerer into what could as likely as not be an elaborate trap."

Kagura doubted that it was a trap, as the boy had offered to let her kill him rather than be part of this.

"I see that you don't think I'm right about this. Well, you have known him longer than I have, so I won't say that you're being a fool," _even though I think you _are_ being one._ It was amazing, that even though he had no inflection in his voice, gave no outward sign of having any emotion or opinions at all, she still somehow read this from him.

"Thank you," Kagura said.

"I know that you're bound to a sorcerer's will, and that you probably won't have the opportunity, if things go sour, but if things go sour, and you have the opportunity…get out. Get away from the boy, or from Naraku, or from whoever. You might be tempted to seek vengeance first thing. Don't. You can't revenge yourself if you're dead. At the very least, lick your wounds and enjoy your freedom for a while before seeking revenge." Even though his tone was as deadpan as it always was, Kagura got the feeling that he was pleading with her.

She was hit with a sudden flash of a movie she saw some of in the future. She had marveled at the awesome technology, power, and afluence that had made such a thing possible, and realized the humbling thought that humankind were rulers of their world in a way in which demonkind had never been and could never hope to be: unquestioningly and completely, but also alone in that power. And then she changed the channel. Honestly, if humans could do something like this, why did they fill the channels with so much crap? In the movie, a woman was pleading with a man, presumably her lover, not to seek revenge, to just run away with her and be happy. The man said that he couldn't, because of honor or some crap like that. This was where Kagura broke the simile: "Of course I will. What do you take me for, an idiot? The first chance I get to break out of the insanity I live in, I'll be _gone_."

"Good," Sesshoumaru said. "I take it, that since you couldn't recruit me, you'll be leaving now?"

"Actually, there is one other thing I want to do, before we leave."

"Oh?"

"I have always wanted to, but I never did, as Naraku would have killed me, and besides, I never had an opportunity to do it before now," Kagura said, stepping closer to Sesshoumaru.

"What are you doing?" he asked calmly.

"This," and Kagura kissed him. He didn't respond, didn't kiss back, but neither did he fight her or push her off, even when she forced his mouth open with her tongue. He tasted sweet, even sweeter than she had imagined. He made no response to this when she pulled back. She waited for him to say something, but it was useless. Wild horses couldn't get a sound out of this man. She gave up. "Right. I'll be going now. Thanks for not killing me or something when I did that." She turned around and walked.

"Kagura…"

"Yeah?"

"Remember what I said."

She smiled without turning around. "Always."

"Also…"

"Yeah?"

"Don't let that sorcerer boss you around too much."

"Don't worry, he's a total pushover. Watch this." Then to Kyo she shouted, "Hey! It's time to go!"

Kyo hopped to his feet. "Right, coming!" Then to Rin he said, "See you around sometime."

"Right," Rin said.

They got in the feather and flew off. Kyo sighed happily.

"I take it you liked Rin, then?"

"What, you mean, _liked_ liked?"

"Yeah."

"I've only just met her. It's too early to tell," Kyo protested.

"And yet…"

"Well, you have some idea what my life has been like up until this point, so you know how little this means, but this is the fist time I've ever talked so much with a girl my own age. Still, I really…"

"Enjoyed yourself?"

"Yes; that," Kyo said. "It makes me feel…warm…and fuzzy…that life may actually be worth living, after all…which is not a feeling I am used to at all, so it weirds me out."

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"What are you talking about?" Kyo demanded. "We don't have _time_ to go all the way back to the village and confirm that Naraku is already out of the well. We've got to go to his grave--_now!_" Even as he said this, the rational part of his brain was telling him that what they were saying made sense, but the voices were screaming that he had to get to Naraku's grave as soon as humanly possible. That the situation would not wait on them to dilly dally. Yeah, the voices actually said "dilly dally."

Of course, throwing a temper tantrum wasn't helping his cause. It just made them all even more suspicious, especially Miroku. He could tell.

"Fine, if you're not going to help us, we'll go it alone!" He telekinetically pulled the Tetsusaiga to him by calling on their demonic energy without even thinking about it, and left.

"No, you don't!" Shippo shouted, lunging at him.

"Sit!" Kyo ordered. The small demon was floored by the sorcerer's metaphysical muscle, leaving a dent. "In the air!" He and Kagura took off.

"Hiraikotsu!" They dodged the attack.

"Adamant Barrage!" Kyo countered. "Next time, I'll aim to wound!" he added just before they were out of hearing range.

They came to Naraku's grave. Kyo could feel the cold power of death around him, the death of something very powerful. In retrospect, he'd cringe at this, knowing that he should have realized that something was wrong. But of course, it was too late; the voices were riding him, and their goal, its goal, his goal, was almost complete.

He shoved the great blade into the earth of the grave, into the moldering body, and sent power down it, while at the same time calling out to all of the demons in the surrounding wilderness. It was then that he half-awoke from his trance, just enough to think, _Um, what the hell am I doing?_ But it was too late. He had been tricked.


	7. Naraku Returns

Ties That Bind

S-Michael

Chapter 6

Naraku Returns

_The two children were playing in the shrine when Kyo fell and cut his hand on the well. Did he feel an electric shock when he touched it? Did the hair on the back of his neck stand up? Whatever the answers to those, he was a young child who had just been hurt, and so was crying too hard to notice any sensation so mild._

"_C'mon, let me bandage that for you, twerp," Kagome said affectionately, and she did so. "There, all better," and she kissed the bandage._

"_Hey, I've an owie you can kiss," a familiar voice leered._

"_Not if it were your final request, Toshio," Kagome said icily. Ill-chosen words, as it would turn out. "What do you want?"_

"_I'm here to pick up my little brother," Toshio said. "Of course, if you had other ideas…"_

"_Piss off, slime ball. I'd sooner date Kyo."_

"_We don't have to date; we could just f--"_

"_I said, 'piss off!'" Kagome growled._

_Toshio laughed, and took Kyo by the hand. Kyo walked with his brother, not knowing that fate had already determined two major aspects of his future life. That was not the night Toshio died, but it was the last day he had gone to school, and the last day he had spoken to Kagome. No one had thought the former odd, as he was hardly in school at all, anyway, but the latter was kind of strange. If he could, Toshio harassed Kagome at least once every day. No one was complaining about this lapse, though._

_It wasn't the day the Yamamoris died, but it was the day Kyo made himself known to the spirit trapped within the Bone Eater's Well. It had his blood, just a few drops, but all it needed to call him to it, and when Kyo fell asleep that night, he ended up sleepwalking to the shrine. The spirit was surprised with the ease of this, even if it had some of the boy's blood to be used to call him. The boy's subconscious reactions were…daemonophilic was the only word. His body gave no protest to the demonic energies flowing through it._

_:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:_

_The boy climbed out of the well, still being ridden by the demon. Naraku was pleased. He now knew what the Bone Eater's Well did, and what's more, it actually took him back to before InuYasha was revived. Sweet._

_Naraku basked under the glow of the full moon. This body of his, it wasn't his old body, but it had it's advantages, it's powers. And so pliable! Normally, demonic possession was so much work, as the human body and the human soul wanted to do certain things, but this one fit him like a glove, it obeyed him intuitively. And no wonder; the kid was an instinctive sorcerer, but living in the era he did, had never learned to shield or otherwise defend himself from demonic attacks or control._

_He was very lucky, in this find, and it would come in handy in his plans. Naraku didn't have any specific details, yet to his plans, but they would come. He wasn't worried;_ after all,_ he thought, taking a deep breath of car-exhaust filled air, _now that I know the secret of the Bone Eater's Well, I have all the time in the world.

_Naraku went to the shrine which housed the Bone Eater's well every night, because it was full of objects with demonic power, which he used Kyo's talents to steal._

"_Oh, my. What's in here? Another haunted Noh mask?" Naraku had consumed the power of three of them so far, probably all from the same tree. The shrine, once full of captured demons waiting for any chance at freedom, was now full of useless trinkets. Little did he know, but he was actually doing them a favor, because had all of those things come to life when the Noh mask did, it would have been a disaster which would have completely overwhelmed InuYasha. Naraku patted the box affectionately. "Don't worry, I'll be back to 'liberate' you as I did your brothers. But it's almost dawn, and I can't have the kid waking up here, now can I?"_

_Naraku was positively chipper, but that was about to change. He'd never be back to eat the last Noh mask, and his plans, which had been gliding so effortlessly so far, would crash and burn, because the soul he was riding was about to be shattered, traumatized, broken, and Naraku would be holding on for dear life in a chaotic storm between the boy's ears. When the storm died down, he would no longer be in control. He would be just a voice in a deranged child's head._

_:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:_

_Naraku returned to Kyo's house, and knew immediately that something wasn't right. Cars were parked outside the front of the house that weren't there before, and the people who got out of them did not look peaceful and were wielding some sort of firearms. If firearm technology had advanced as much as everything else in five hundred years, then the people inside were in big trouble. Even if they were like the single-shot harquebusiers of Naraku's day, there were still more guns than there were people inside of the house._

_One of them cocked his gun, and Kyo stirred. Naraku slipped around back and in through the kitchen door. He didn't actually give a damn about these people, but Kyo's body was the only thing keeping him tied to the world of the living, and Kyo depended on these people for food and shelter, and so them dying would be very inconvenient. He had no idea how inconvenient it would prove to be._

_Kyo's parents were arguing with Toshio in the living room, something about staying out too late, or setting a bad example for Kyo, or something. Naraku tried to think of a way to get them out of there without showing them anything that would be inconvenient for him to show them, but he was too late. The gunmen kicked the door down, their leader shooting first one than the other parent in the skull with marksman accuracy. Naraku was impressed with his swift execution (no pun intended) of the maneuver, but Kyo was now wide awake, and frozen in place with fear. Naraku had to force the boy into a closet. The panels were slightly open, so they could see everything._

"_Where's our money, bitch?" the leader asked Toshio._

"_What money?" Toshio was rewarded by being hit with the butt end of the firearm, which looked like it hurt._

"_I said, where is our fucking money, bitch? I won't be asking a third time."_

"_U-under my bed. Upstairs. Second room on the left."_

_The leader nodded to one of his henchmen, who went to check to see if this were true. The henchman returned lugging a suitcase. "It's here, boss. There's also a fake ID and passport in it, too."_

"_So you thought you were going to skip town on us, did you, punk?" said the leader. "Let's show him what we do to punks who skip town on us." He shot him._

"_We should search this place," One of them said._

_Naraku focused on the leader. _There is no need.

"_There is no need."_

We have already killed everybody here.

"_We have already killed everybody here."_

"_Are you sure you don't want us to check, to make sure."_

"_What did I just say? We don't have time for that. We've got to go."_

"_Standard procedure?" another asked._

_The leader nodded. "Torch the place."_

_They brought containers of gasoline into the house, and dumped it everywhere. Then as they left, the leader lit a match and tossed it behind him. Naraku put a shield around Kyo, and then ran for the kitchen door, busting it down and hitting the ground._

_That was the exact instant that the scope of what he had just seen hit Kyo. The very next second, his mind shattered, and Naraku, who had had an easy time of controlling the boy up to the point, could no longer do anything with him. He was now a prisoner, a single aspect of a mind shattered by extreme trauma. After time, he found he was able to speak with Kyo, tell him to do things, but he wasn't able to outright control him, except in extreme moments, and then the boy had to be distracted._

_In the meantime, the cops took Kyo's story with a grain of salt. After all, he had suffered no smoke inhalation, not so much as a singed hair, thanks to Naraku. They did not use his testimony when they found suspects, and the suspects were found not guilty in a court of law. And then Naraku began to whisper words of revenge into Kyo's ear, and Kyo listened._

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"It was all a trick," Kyo whispered softly at the heart of the vortex, as the aforementioned events flashed through his head. The voices were gone. They had been with him as long as he could remember, usually a white noise inside of his head, and now they were gone, and the world was a much quieter place.

"Well, I _did_ enjoy killing those pesky humans who shattered my plans, but yes, it was all just an elaborate plan to get you here, now," Naraku said.

"Why all the rest, though?" Kyo asked.

"It's hard to find lackeys as powerful as Kagura, and I didn't feel like making more. Plus, with your powers, I can control her like I never was able to before," Naraku said. "Plus, you've been kind enough to deliver the Tetsusaiga and the Shikon Jewel to me. And most of my surviving enemies are following you to their deaths. Thanks. But I don't need you any more at the moment."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"How could he have _possibly_ done 'Adamant Barrage?'" InuYasha demanded.

"If he raised Kagura from five hundred years' of death, he easily has enough power to weild Tetsusaiga," Miroku said.

"But…how could he have possibly known?" InuYasha said.

"It could be that he's intuitive to demonic power to a degree that's frightening, or…that he's being ridden by something that knows what Tetsusaiga can do and how," Miroku said.

"Naraku," Sango cursed.

"Maybe," Miroku said.

"If Naraku was controlling Kyo, he would have aimed to kill us," Kagome said.

"Which means his control is not complete," Miroku said.

They came upon the scene, and saw something many of them had had nightmares about; Naraku, with the Shikon Jewel around his neck, and wielding Tetsusaiga. Kyo was sprawled on the ground and Kagura was being held in place by some force.

"InuYasha. So glad you could make it. Welcome to my triumphant return," Naraku said.

"Naraku, you bastard! Is he…?"

"Dead? No, just paralyzed. So that I can eat him in peace once I've finished with you," Naraku said.

"Not on your life! Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!"

Naraku nimbly dodged. "Too slow."

"You cocky bastard!" InuYasha attacked like a wild animal, coming from all sides, bouncing back when he was blocked, but every attack was parried or dodged with nimble ease.

"Has life in the future made you weak, InuYasha? Or is it just that I possess the full Shikon no Tama now? Or, could it be, that all of your strength comes from Tetsusaiga? A little of bit of all of the above, I think," Naraku said.

"Hiraikotsu!" Naraku deflected the boomerang with Tetsusaiga.

"You arrogant--Blades of Blood!" InuYasha shouted, wounding himself in order to make the attack. Sango threw Hiraikotsu again, and Kirara dive bombed Naraku. He was able to avoid all of these attacks, but Miroku hit him in the side with his staff. Naraku then dodged another lunge from the giant cat and deflected one of Kagome's arrows. It looked like they had Naraku on the defensive, but then Hiraikotsu hit barrier on it's next attack.

"I tire of this game," Naraku said. The barrier extended itself to encompass InuYasha. "It's just you and me in here, InuYasha, and I'm going to tear you asunder with your own sword, InuYasha. Windscar!"

"No!" Kagome shouted, reaching the barrier just as the Windscar hit InuYasha.

InuYasha went flying five feet and hit the ground with a loud _thud_. But he wasn't dead. "You…missed," he said from a pool of his own blood.

"Hmm, it seems my aim _was_ a bit off," Naraku admitted. "Ah, well. It would have been anticlimactic to kill you off in one hit. Besides, I can't think of a better way to get target practice with my new sword than hitting you again. Windscar!"

InuYasha prepared himself for the killing blow. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The Windscar never connected. He heard a scream. "Kagome!" He tried to jump to his feet, but his body wasn't working the way it should have been.

"How did you get in here?" Naraku demanded.

InuYasha saw that Kagome was standing over him, and the Windscar had deflected. She had put up a barrier, but just forcing her way through Naraku's barrier had host her most of her power, and the barrier was quickly draining what was left of it. No one had physically touched her but the barrier itself had tried to squeeze the life out of her as she passed though it, and if it hadn't broken a few of her bones, cracked a rib or two, that would have been a miracle.

"Kagome…what are you doing?" InuYasha asked.

"Protecting you, what does it look like?" she wheezed. "After all the times you saved me, how could I not come to the side of the man I love when he needs me?" She coughed up a little blood.

"Kagome…" InuYasha said. He looked up at her, her trembling legs, struggling to stay upright, her fatigued and broken body, staying conscious by sheer force of will, this woman who had broken through Naraku's barrier by sheer force of will, and realized that this was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Which was good, because, as he figured it, the rest of his life was going to be the next five seconds.

"Touching," Naraku said. "Now prepare to die."

"Quickly, attack the barrier where Kagome walked through before it strengthens itself again!" Miroku shouted.

"How annoying," Naraku said. "Kagura, kill them."

"Don't do any such thing," another voice said. Kyo stood up.

"Look who has decided to join us!" Naraku said. "I was hoping that that poison would keep you stiff for another couple hours. I guess that shows me for using demonic powers on a sorcerer. Too bad; I was going to enjoy adding your power to mine. I guess I'll have to be content with this leash to Kagura you gave me.

"I'm sorry, Kagura," Kyo said. "I didn't know, honest. But I'm going to fix it." He walked towards the barrier, and for the fist time in years was afraid for his life. The very same barrier which had tried to kill Kagome passed over him like water.

"I should have known we were too closely bound for my barrier to keep you out with a barrier," Naraku said.

"I'm more powerful than you are," Kyo said. It was a shot in the dark. He hoped it would hit.

"It doesn't matter," Naraku said. "You are powerful and intinuative, but when it comes down to it, you're fighting with instincts and brute force. You're not strong enough to win that way, not against me. Not to mention, I know you inside and out and tought you everything you know."

"I don't have to win," Kyo said with more bravado than he felt, "you just have to lose."

The corners of Naraku's mouth turned upwards. "Nicely said. But, as powerful as you are, you're still human, and the thing about humans…" Naraku swung Tetsusaiga, Kyo put up a shield, but it had no more affect on Naraku than Naraku's shield had had on him; Naraku cut off his arm halfway down the upper arm and cleaved into his abdomen just above the lowest pair of ribs, "…is that, when you get right down to it, they're easy to kill." Naraku removed the sword, taking a small chink of the sorcerer's internal organs with it, and the boy fell. The Hiraikotsu broke through the barrier, but Naraku was barely able to block it with Tetsusaiga just in time to avoid being hit. The boomerang wasn't the only thing coming through the hole, though. Demons; hundreds, thousands, an uncountable number of demons. Why? Naraku looked at the boy, who was lying in a pool of his own blood. His eyes were open, staring blindly at nothing, and his lips were moving, giving silent orders to the hoard he had summoned. "Why, you little…" He shifted his grip on Tetsusaiga, meaning to skewer him with a downward stab, but then two things happened. One was that Tetsusaiga was deflected by Hiraikotsu. The other was that the demons had ripped of his non-sword arm and a piece of his corresponding side. The pieces attached themselves to Kyo, replacing what he had lost. "Hey, don't steal pieces from me, you ghoul," Naraku said as his own anatomy regenerated. He bound Kyo in another kind of shield and turned to face his attackers. To a casual observer, it would have looked as if Naraku was protecting Kyo from the demons, but it couldn't have been farther from the truth.

Hundreds of demons were disposed of with each use of Windscar, but they kept on coming. The small hole they had to use to get in was a perfect target, and they must have known that, but on they came, obeying the sorcerer's silent command, lambs to the slaughter. Then Naraku felt a sharp metaphysical shock and heard a series of explosions in the air.

"Damn it," Kyo swore with exasperation. What was the boy doing? Attacking the metaphysical lines that connected them wouldn't have killed Naraku…

"Oh, sneaky boy," Naraku said, not turning around. "You were never trying to kill me, at all, were you? You're trying to sever the ties that bind the three of us."

"Killing you would be nice, but…priorities," Kyo said. "I promised Kagura her freedom, and I intend to deliver."

"I guess it's true what they say about blood seals making you sentimental towards your bond. Luckily, I circumvented that problem by having you do it for me. You might as well not even try to break those ties, sorcerer. You don't have the…finesse. The only reason you can do anything more complicated than a crude barrier is because of me."

"If I can't break them…maybe…"

Naraku killed the last of the demons and spun. "What are you--?" Twin lightning bolts hit him, sending him to the ground, collapsing his shields.

"What the hell just happened?" Sango asked. It looked like Kyo, Naraku, and Kagura had all shot lightning at each other.

Miroku let down his own barrier, which he had used to keep Kirara from joining the suicidal march of demons.

Kagome helped InuYasha to his feet, and then it was his turn to support her. "Are they dead?"

Naraku stirred, and then so did Kagura. Naraku looked at the sorcerer. "What the hell was _that?_"

"I overloaded the ties that bind us," Kyo said.

"I told you, you can't break them," Naraku said.

"I didn't break them…I reversed them," Kyo said.


	8. Severed Ties

Ties That Bind

S-Michael

Chapter 7

Severed Ties

"I didn't break them…I reversed them," Kyo said. He began to sit up, but the blood loss he had sustained made him dizzy. He fell back to his back. "You can't control Kagura any more, and neither can I. In fact…"

"…she controls us," Naraku finished. "You moron! Why the hell would you do something like that? Why the hell would you let _Kagura_ control us?"

"I'm very goal-oriented," Kyo smirked.

"You little--!" he brought Tetsusaiga down for the kill.

"Stop!" Kagura ordered. Naraku had to obey. "Oh, this is sweet. This is sweet, indeed. What should I do with you, Naraku? Shall I force you to do my bidding? That could be fun; extracting every drop of glorious revenge, tenfold. Or I could just make you follow me around so I can use you like a beating post every time I get mad. That would also be satisfactory. But you know what? I'm going to do neither of those things. I'm going to take the high road, do the merciful thing, and kill you right here." She paused dramatically. "Dance of Blades!"

Just as the attack was about to hit him--Naraku dodged! "Hey--how did you do that?" Kyo demanded. "I thought we couldn't break the binds."

"No, _you_ can't, because you're woefully ignorant about all things sorcery," Naraku said.

"Well, then, it looks like I'm just going to have to kill you the old fashioned way," Kagura said.

"Quite," Naraku said. He then dodged another Dance of Blades, Hiraikotsu, an arrow, and Miroku on Kirara's back using his staff as a lance, in the process leading the fight away from Kyo.

Kyo tried to get up, but his head started spinning so bad he fell to the ground again. Well, screw it. He had done his duty. What did he care if Naraku lived or died? That was Kagura's problem. And the others', he supposed. Even if Naraku had tricked him, Kyo had still gotten what he was after, and now that Kagura was free, that was the end of his responsibility, unless Kagura ordered him to do something about that, as the ties that bound them were reversed. Letting someone like Kagura have complete control over everything he did probably wasn't a smart idea, but then, whatever.

Kagura…Kagome…InuYasha, even. These people were, like, friends, or something. He really ought to help them, he guessed, but what could he do? He had lost a lot of blood. He looked at his severed arm, and them at his new arm. The new one didn't really look like the old one. The new one was a couple of sizes too big, and pale. Then he touched the severed arm with the new one. The new one absorbed the severed one like some sort of tentacle monster. Now it looked like his old arm. He flexed his fingers. It moved, barely. He wondered if he didn't cross a nerve, or something? After all, he was no surgeon. When Kyo stood this time, he didn't feel like the world was trying to kill him, so the mass from the "new" arm must have converted itself into blood. Or something.

Kyo realized that he shouldn't have been able to do that. He also shouldn't have been able to attach the new limb to his body in the first place. That took skill, finesse, some sort of knowledge of what the hell he was doing. So how…he realized, that while Naraku had severed his tie to Kaura, he _hadn't_ severed his tie to Kyo. They must still be connect on some subconscious level. After all, Naraku had resided in Kyo's head, and the tie binding them had been reversed, so theoretically…Kyo had an idea, but he'd have to get Naraku back to him for it to work. He had made the Shikon Jewel and the Tetsusaiga come to his hands. How? He hadn't of thought that he had had the power of telekinesis. He tried it, trying to make a rock come to his hand. Nothing. He tried making a piece of demon corpse come to him by summoning it's demonic energy to him. It leaped. The chunk of flesh completely missed the target, but Kyo got the general principle of the thing down. He had to call them to him. Naraku would follow. The sorcerer focused on the fight in the distance, and he concentrated on the objects of power.

Meanwhile, it had been a battle of five against one. Miroku didn't have his Wind Tunnel, and InuYasha's Tetsusaiga was being used by the enemy, so the males were at a disadvantage, having to wait until the enemy got within range of a melee attack, which he rarely did.

The fact did not escape Naraku. "What kind of men let women do their fighting for them?" he asked mockingly.

"Come here and say that!" InuYasha shouted, lunging for him while Kagome, riding his back, aimed an arrow. Naraku dodged both, and was about to block Hiraikotsu with Tetsusaiga when said sword was ripped from his hands. He recovered in time to dodge it completely, and then chased the floating blade. InuYasha reached it and grabbed it, which annoyed Kyo, as this wasn't part of his plan. "Thanks, kid."

Kyo tried to move closer to the fight, and discovered that running wasn't quite within his range of possibilities yet. Even walking was a chore. So, how to get close to Naraku, then?

InuYasha delivered his own Windscar, but Naraku deflected it with his barrier.

"Kagura," Kyo called. But of course, she wasn't bound to his will anymore, and she was a little distracted.

They were all ganging up on Naraku. InuYasha was hitting him with Adamant Barrage, and the others were taking care of those bits that dared to show themselves outside of the barrier. It seemed like they had the upper hand, and yet…why was he so confident?

"Kirara," he called. She resisted him, but he won out, and she veered off to pick him up.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Sango demanded.

"Sorry about commandeering your ride," Kyo said, pulling himself onto Kirara's back. The cat growled at him. Apparently, she didn't liked being controlled. Kyo noticed an odd sensation, of his power beginning to flow less like water and more like molasses, of his mind slowing down…fatigue. He was nearing the end of his reserves. He had to do this right. "I need to get close to Naraku."

"I take it you have a plan?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, sure," Kyo rubbed his eyes. "It might even work, too."

"Look," Sango said, pointing to the ground around the fight scene.

"Naraku is covering the whole place with pieces of himself," Miroku said.

"So?" Kyo asked.

"Trust me, that is bad," Miroku said.

"Kagura Dance of the Dragon," Kyo managed to say.

"That could work," Sango said.

"Get me to Naraku, first," Kyo said.

"I don't think he'll stay still long enough for you to get to him," Miroku said.

Just then, Naraku seemed to fall, but an upwelling of flesh engulfed InuYasha and Kagura, and tried to engulf the others, but Miroku put up a barrier.

"What, this? Why didn't you say so? I can use this," Kyo said, and intentionally fell from Kirara's back into the mass. Once he was inside of Naraku, he made headed for his mind. He was remembering a dream he had had, which he was beginning to think wasn't a dream, but a glimpse into Naraku's mind. He had found something there that time, and had been pushed away before he could find out what it was. This time, he would.

He was inside of Naraku's mind, a cacophony of voices, which he still thought of as _his_ voices. Had they always been this angry? And the dominant voice…Naraku's voice. Kyo searched for the black lump he had found earlier, and then once he had found it, he began to try to open it. It was hard, as it was doubly locked to him, as it was both something Naraku locked away from himself and something nondemonic in nature. Still, he probed until his metaphysical tentacles found the crack in the surface, and began to pry at it…

_Wait!_ Naraku shouted. _Why are you doing this?_

_Because, I owe it to them,_ Kyo answered.

_No, you don't. You already gave Kagura her freedom, and the rest of them didn't really help you, _Naraku said.

_Kagome…_

_A sister of a friend you haven't known since early childhood. And they didn't actually help you. What of me, though? I _did_ help you._

Kyo paused. Naraku was right. Raising Kagura, planning his revenge, executing his revenge, it was all Naraku's doing. Kyo suspected that he had lent his own nerve to Kyo's in order to get him through it. And what's more…for all those years, when he had a problem, when he needed a friend, he turned to the voices…to Naraku. They…he…had always been there for him. Not that he had much choice. Still, he owed everything to Naraku.

_You could be my henchman,_ Naraku said. _I could use someone with your abilities. Or, if you're still as nihilistic as you've always been, I could simply absorb you. How would you like to be a part of me?_

_Actually, I've started to care whether or not I live or die,_ Kyo said.

_Henchman, then. We'll sever your link to Kagura so she can't order you around, and then we can do great things together. I will teach you to use your power. I will give you a new mission in life, to serve me. You'll have purpose again,_ Naraku proposed.

_We could do amazing things together,_ Kyo said.

_Yes. You're a sensible boy; I knew you'd see things my way._

Kyo began to pull back, but then he heard other voices. InuYasha and Kagura were fighting to remain themselves as Naraku pulled them into him. Their desire for Naraku's death permiated throughout his mind, and because of the ties that bound them, newly reversed, Kagura's desire became a command. _Sorry,_ Kyo said, and plunged into the blackness.

"_Hello? Who's there? I've been alone for oh so very long."_

"_My name is Kyo," Kyo said._

"_I'm Onigumo," said the voice._

_There still wasn't any light, but he began to be able to see, both himself and Onigumo. "You're human," Kyo said._

"_Don't sound so shocked," Onigumo said._

"_Tell me about yourself."_

_And so Onigumo told Kyo the tale of his life as a bandit, of his quest for the Shikon Jewel, of how the priestess Kikyo had tended to his wounded body, of how he made an ill-fated deal with demons because of his love for Kikyo, of how the demons betrayed him, the first action of the newly-formed Naraku being to kill Kikyo. "So, why are you here?"_

"_To rescue you, it would seem," Kyo said._

"_How? Why?"_

"_Your soul is what holds Naraku together. Without you, he would dispel."_

"_I don't know if I can…"_

"_C'mon. I thought criminals such as yourself were supposed to be big on revenge. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for Kikyo."_

"_Alright," Onigumo agreed. "How do we do this?"_

"_You just think about your body. I'll do the heavy lifting." Kyo forced the demonic energy away from the areas of their respective bodies, hoping that he wouldn't end up with any of Onigumo's parts._ And then he was back on terra firma.

"Kyo, come here!" Kagura shouted, landing her feather. Kyo was too tired to move, but did so anyway, because the ties that bound them compelled him to do as she bid. "What happened?"

"Dispelled Naraku. Onigumo…"

"Am I free?" Onigumo asked.

"Temporarily," Kyo said. "As soon as I run out of power, whch ought to be in about two seconds, the demons will rush back into you, and Naraku will be reborn. Again. Sorry, I'm kind of new at this."

"Then what was the point?" Onigumo asked.

"I was kind of hoping for permanence. But there is one way to ensure your freedom."

"What?" Onigumo asked. When Kyo didn't answer, he said, "Oh." He sighed. "Very well. Anything's better than that darkness. Do what you must." He laughed, holding up a tiny object in his hand. "I finally got the Shikon Jewel." He closed his eyes, and his head was cut off by the Dance of Blades.

"Not as satisfactory as it would have been if it had been Naraku," Kagura said.

"He was Naraku's single vital element. No Onigumo means no Naraku. Now there's just a million little puissant demons running around with shattered memories and dreams of greatness. Going after them would be pointless and petty," Kyo said, and then he fainted.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"InuYasha suffered greatly from the wound he received in the beginning of the fight, but he'll recover, and you're going to need more medical care than I can give you if you're to make a full recovery, but you're not dying, as far as I can tell," Kaede said. Kagome nodded, trying to think of a lie to tell the hospital on the other side. "Aside from that, all of the injuries are superficial, and Kyo's physically unharmed."

"Which ought not to be possible," Kagome said. "After all, he _did_ get his arm chopped off and a piece of his lung and liver removed, and then replaced them with Naraku's."

"I've heard of sorcerers attaching demonic extremities to themselves, but that's supposed to be temporary, and costly to maintain," Kaede agreed. "Maybe the fact that Naraku had human blood in him helped."

"Maybe," Kagome said.

"Hey, guys, Onigumo had this," Kagura said, holding up the Shikon Jewel.

"And, what, are you giving it to us?" Kagome asked.

"Sure, why not?" Kagura said. "_I_ never wanted the stupid thing in the first place."

"Give it to me," InuYasha said. Kagura tossed it to the half-demon. "You said I was healed, right?"

"Mostly," Kaede answered. "Your remaining wounds wouldn't take long to heal, even for a human."

"Good," InuYasha said, closing his fist on the jewel and closing his eyes. His hair turned black and his ears shifted to their human position and form. When he opened his eyes, he was human, and the Shikon Jewel had disappeared, purified.

"InuYasha…" Kagome said.

"Kagome...let's get married," InuYasha said.

"Yes, lets," Kagome said, teary-eyed and breathless.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Being broken down and reconstructed inside of Naraku had done Kyo's body wonders. His shoddy attempt to reattach his arm had been fixed, his blood had been replenished, a scar on the inside of his left foot that he had had since he was five was gone, his toes, which were once crooked, were now straight, and all the toxins and pollutants in his body he had acquired in the modern age had been swept clean. He didn't know any of this, though; when he woke up, all he new was that he felt good, and fresh. Calm-after-the-storm fresh. This was kind of appropriate, because he had spent all of his reserves, like a storm spends all of the humidity in the air.

"Hey, kiddo," Kagura said. "Glad to see you're finally up."

"Kagura? Did I miss anything good?"

"Yeah. InuYasha used the Shikon Jewel to turn himself human, and he and Kagome are getting married," Kagura said. "It was really touching, but I got the feeling that there were volumes being spoken between them I wasn't privy to.

"Where are they?" Kyo asked.

"I delivered them to the Bone Eater's Well. Kagome needed medical attention."

Kyo winced.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine," Kagura assured him.

"Did we get invited to their wedding?"

"The one on this end. They're having the ceremony twice, so all their friends can be there," Kagura said.

"And are we going?"

"I intend to. You can do whatever you like."

Kyo considered telling her that he had almost betrayed them to Naraku, that he _would_ have, if she hadn't of compelled him to destroy the half-demon. "Nobody died? Besides Naraku, I mean."

"Nobody died," Kagura assured him.

"Serious injuries?"

"Not except for Kagome and InuYasha, and they should make full recoveries, if the hospitals of the future are all they're cracked up to be."

"So Naraku's dead, _my_ enemies are dead, the Bone Eater's Well is open to travel again, you're free, and none of us is dead or disabled. All in all, I'd say that that's a net gain," Kyo said.

"The ties that bind us are now binding you to my will," Kagura pointed out.

Kyo shrugged. "Eh. The net difference is still in the black."

"Huh?"

"Business slang. Black is profit, red is debt."

"I see."

"So, what are we going to do now…boss?" Kyo asked.

"I figured we'd find a sorcerer so that we can break these ties."

"You know, if you just leave them be, I'd be a powerful weapon in your arsenal."

"You deserve a fair deal. After all, you did free me," Kagura said.

Kyo smirked. "Since when are you a good guy?"

"Since I can afford to be one. One does not survive as one of Naraku's underlings by being compassionate, or fair," Kagura said.

"Huh." Kyo said, painfully reminded of his attempted betrayal. Kagura probably did him a favor by compelling him to kill Naraku. Still, he couldn't feel guilty about it. "So…about the releasing the ties that bind us thing…"

"Yeah?"

"We don't have to do it first thing. The thing is, I've spent so long thinking only about revenge that I don't really know what to do with my life anymore. I'm going to need some time to…figure it out. To learn how to live again."

"Alright. You are now officially my servant. I wasn't looking forward to meeting with a filthy sorcerer, anyway--er, no offense intended. So, what shall we do now that we're free? Well, now that _I'm_ free, that is."

You're asking _me?_" Kyo asked.

"I've got no real plans for the day. Consider it a token gesture," Kagura said.

"Alright, then." Kyo closed his eyes and thought. His head was so silent, for the first time in years. His was the only voice in it. He was alone inside of himself, painfully and utterly alone, for the first time in years. Naraku would have one honest mourner, it would appear. Even the worst villain deserved one, he guessed. Anyway, back to the subject at hand: what did he want to _do?_ There was only one thing he could think of. "Let's go see Rin and Sesshoumaru."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Kagura smiled.

FIN

Interview With The Cast & Author

Interviewer: Firstly, S-Michael, why did you decide to do this cheesy--and lengthy--interview thing instead of a regular "Author's Commentary (As If You Care)" as is your current standard?

S-Michael: This is a time for celebrating. I've finally finished this behemoth! Yea, me!

Interviewer: …O…K… Anyway, what inspired you to write this?

S-Michael: I can't be expected to remember in detail, it having been a solid year ago, but I'm pretty sure it was that the fact that Kagura died totally sucked ass.

Interviewer: But…you said you only watch the anime.

S-Michael: Which is true, but come on! I _am_ a fan, remember.

Interviewer: You state in the Author's Notes on the first page that because of this being based on the anime, you don't have to label this as AU. Why do you care?

S-Michael: AU conjures up images of the Yasha gang going to Shikon High in modern America, or something. I wanted to distinguish myself from _that_ as much as possible.

Interviewer: But…that's AR, not AU.

Kyo: Huh?

S-Michael: AU means _alternate universe_, and describes stories like ones in which InuYasha and Kikyo didn't get tricked by Naraku, and instead lived happily ever after. Stories that could have happened given the facts of the universe they take place in, but didn't. AR means _alternate reality_, and describes…well, basically what I just said. Things that could never, ever happen.

Kyo: (rolls eyes) Fanfic writers.

S-Michael: To answer your question, Interviewer, not everyone understands the difference on In fact, I didn't, until a little while ago.

InuYasha: You looked it up, didn't you?

S-Michael: Actually, I stumbled across it while I was looking something else up fanfiction-related.

Interviewer: So, Kyo, tell us about myself.

Kyo: Well, I'm an OC, obviously, and there's an unspoken rule to being an OC: never outshine the canon characters. That puts you on a dangerous path, one that might lead to Mary-Sue-dom, and you've got to avoid being a Mary-Sue, because those uppity bitches get shunned by the rest of the OC community.

Interviewer: OC community…?

Kyo: You don't want to know.

Interviewer: OK… Anyway, as you were saying…

Kyo: Right. Well, it was rather hard for me not to outshine my cannon costars, because I had to be powerful enough to raise Kagura from being dead for five centuries, or else I'd be useless. Reviving Kagura was the whole point of my existence, you know. My creator managed to beat me into shape, I think, but being him, he did it by making me deranged, neurotic, nihilistic, a touch sociopathic, and emotionally unresponsive. Maybe even a little bit emo. Bastard. He also had be try to betray the rest of the crew to Naraku. That definitely sheered me away from the brink of Mary-Sue.

Interviewer: So, was that planned, or anything, S-Michael?

S-Michael: Actually, I just realized in the fight scene that it would have been totally in-character for Kyo to be swayed by Naraku. After all, as Kyo stated in the story, Naraku _had_ been responsible for him achieving his goal in life, and all that noise, and besides, he had spent years with Naraku as his only friend. Quite frankly, in many ways, it made more sense than him fighting against Naraku. I even considered changing it so that Kyo succeeded in betraying them--demanding that Naraku spared their lives in exchange, of course--and ran away with him. This would have left the door open for a sequel, but it would have ruined the ending which I had had planned, in which InuYasha uses the Shikon Jewel to become human and then marries Kagome. They wouldn't have the luxury to do that, if they were chasing Naraku.

Interviewer: Speaking of, I notice that Naraku isn't here.

Kagura: Well, yeah. He's dead, remember?

Interviewer: …Alright, then. Moving on; what is the significance of InuYasha waiting until _now_ to become human?

InuYasha: I was still, as these people say, "hung up" about Kikyo. I felt a little guilty for being with Kagome, and I also had issues about the whole nailed-to-a-tree thing.

Interviewer: Both at the same time?

InuYasha: (shrugs) The heart; it's a bitch and a half to deal with. When Kagome was standing over me, protecting me with her life and her body…that's what it took for it to click, that she was just as worthy of my love as Kikyo was.

Interviewer: I notice that Kikyo gets idealized in this story.

S-Michael: Well, that's part don't-speak-ill-of-the-dead, part the natural distortion of memory, and part…well, I really do think she's better for InuYasha than Kagome is.

Kagome: (dryly) Gee, thanks.

S-Michael: Sorry.

Interviewer: So, Rin, what is the deal with you not liking humans.

Rin: Well, I do declare that humans are much scarier than demons in that episode in which those demon-killer-guys try to "rescue" me from Lord Sesshoumaru.

Interviewer: I noticed a certain moment…

Rin: S-Michael just put that in for a certain Sesshoumaru/me fangirl. She'll know who she is, if she's reading this. Hi!

Interviewer: So, how well do you think S-Michael captured your characters, people?

Rin: (looks at him funny) You _do_ realize that S-Michael is still writing this, and we'll say whatever he wants us to say, right?

Sesshoumaru: This bores me. I'm going to go do whatever it is that I do all of the time. Come, Rin, Jaken.

Rin: Coming, Lord Sesshoumaru.

InuYasha: Well, he certainly thinks he's all that. Let's talk about him behind his back.

S-Michael: (to interviewer) I'd like to think that I was pretty within-character, that the alterations I did to their personality were entirely within what could have happened naturally.

Interviewer: Like how Miroku stopped being a lech when he got married?

S-Michael: Hey, it's possible. I've heard of it happening before. Besides, I have it on good authority that in the manga, he stops being a lech as soon as he and Sango get engaged.

Interviewer: Touché. Anyway, I notice you were pretty loyal to the English language, not even putting the -kuns, -samas, -chans, or whatever else suffixes at the ends of names, and using "demon" instead of "youkai."

S-Michael: Well, I watch the dubbed version, so wouldn't know which to use with regard to the names. Besides, I had to stick pretty closely to the English translations of words…

Interviewer: Why?

Kyo: Because he cheated.

Interviewer: Pardon me?

Kyo: In Western folklore, a sorcerer is one who can summon and control demons. I doubt that what got translated into "sorcerers" and "demons" had the same relationship in Japan. My entire existence is based on a lie.

Interviewer: I see. While we're on the subject of you, does your name mean anything?

Kyo: Well, my brother, Toshio, got his name from the ghost kid from _The Grudge_.

S-Michael: It seemed appropriate.

Kyo: Also, my last name is the name of the producer, or something.

S-Michael: It was a logo in one of the _InuYasha_ movies.

Kyo: As for _my_ name, well…alright, I don't know. What was it?

S-Michael: I picked it out of a hat.

Kyo: What? You picked it out of a hat? Do you even know if it is a proper Japanese name?

S-Michael: Unless _Zatch Bell_ lied to me.

Interviewer: Well, we're running out of time, so lets wrap it up. Talk about the pairings.

S-Michael: Well, uh, this wasn't really a romance, but the pairings, I have to say, were definitely InuYasha/Kagome and Kagura/Sesshoumaru.

Interviewer: Canon pairings.

S-Michael: Yeah, I know; usually, I like to avoid canon couples at all costs, them being done to death and all. Still, like I said, this wasn't a romance.

Interviewer: Early on, I kind of thought that Kyo and Kagura would become an item.

Kyo: Getting romantically involved with the canon is another dangerous activity for OCs. Mary-Sues actually get their name from OCs created by obsessed fangirls, usually named after themselves, whose purpose is to "get with" a popular character. And before you ask, the whole thing with Rin and me wasn't planned or anything. It was just, well, I am an antisocial near-sociopath, and she hates humans, it just sort of clicked.

Interviewer: You know a lot about Mary-Sues.

Kyo: As an OC, I have to be ever vigilant against becoming one.

Interviewer: I see. So, will there be a sequel.

S-Michael: Never say never, but if there is, it sure as hell will _not_ be as long as this. There will be other changes, as well.

Interviewer: Like what?

Kyo: I will be less powerful, more sane, and get less face time. After all, I've served my purpose.

Interviewer: I see. And time is up in three…two…one…NOW!


End file.
